6) Saving the Tales
by IlaGolden
Summary: This is the sixth book in the Tales Saga. The Tales Saga is an alternate version of Yu-Gi-Oh which rewrites the story from the end of Battle City onwards. Something strange is going on; everyone's either tired, really distracted or both. And who are those mysterious strangers making their presence known; what is it about them that's just so creepy?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

His eyes stared wearily up at the ceiling as he listened to the sound of screaming tearing through the house. This was the second time tonight and it had been going on now for almost five minutes. He gave a heavy sigh as he glanced towards the clock on his bedside table; it was nearly two am. Gritting his teeth he crammed his pillow over his head and prayed someone would do something about the screaming soon before he had to sort it for himself.

The thought almost instantly made him feel guilty. Groaning at his own selfishness, he forced himself out of bed and down the corridor towards the room the screams were coming from. The one causing all the noise was just stood in the middle of the room; his head tilted back, his body rigid and his face screwed up with the effort of screaming. Hesitantly he pulled the boy into his arms and held him. This caused currents of intense pain to ripple through his body, but he refused to let go.

It took a while, but the screams died down into sobs and then into whimpers. His body then became limp and heavy as he fell into a state of unconsciousness. Sighing heavily and with little else he could do, he moved the boy into bed and tucked him in. For a few seconds he found himself staring down at him, almost amazed by how calm and peaceful he now looked. Then exhaustion hit him, forcing him to shuffle his way out of the room and back to his own.

Sinking back down into his own bed, his eyes returned to staring up at the ceiling. For a few long minutes he just lay there praying he wouldn't be disturbed again tonight. Something told him that was unlikely and as much as he might have hated it he knew this was his punishment. This was what he deserved for what he'd done and nobody could tell him it wasn't.

* * *

Mai made a noise of disgust as she stared down at the already noticeable bump growing from her stomach. Four months gone and she was already starting to feel too fat for every single item of clothing she owned. Picking up one of Joey's t-shirts she slipped it on, before digging around for something comfortable to wear with it.

'You know you ought to go out like that,' a voice teased from behind her, 'who knows, it could catch on.'

'That's not funny,' she turned round to face him. 'How would you feel if you had nothing to wear?'

'Depends on who'd see me,' Joey smirked, 'and anyway, Ahna's offered to lend you some of her maternity stuff.'

'Great,' she rolled her eyes, 'add to my inferiority complex by getting me to dress like her. Geez Joey you always know the right thing to say.'

'You're not inferior to her Mai,' Joey's expression was suddenly serious.

'Aren't I?' Mai turned away. 'You dated her first, you were engaged to her first, you… She had your child first. I think that makes me inferior, don't you?'

'But you're the one I love Mai.'

'And you never loved her?' Mai flicked her gaze back up towards him.

'You know what my relationship with her was like,' Joey's gaze lowered, 'how can you even ask if love had anything to do with it?'

'Because I listened to your rants in the months which followed the end of that relationship, you don't get that angry over the betrayal of someone you never cared about.'

'Okay, so I cared about her,' Joey shrugged, 'that doesn't mean I loved her. Mai you're my Calcanto, how many times do I have to tell you that? I love you and only you. Hell I'd marry you right here, right now if you'd let me.'

'Joey,' Mai turned away from him again, 'I've already told you; ask again after our daughter is born. How many more times?'

'Mai I'm going to ask you every single day until you say yes,' Joey crossed the room and took her into his arms. 'Please Mai, make me the happiest man in the multiverse and marry me.'

'No,' she kept her voice as firm as possible, 'I will not get married pregnant and I will not allow my pregnancy to be the only reason we're getting married. When our daughter is born and all social expectations are off, you can ask me again and then I'll think about it. But right now the only answer you're going to get from me is no.'

'Fine,' he kissed her, 'but can we at least discus names?'

'For what?' Mai blinked at him.

'For our daughter.'

'But she already has a name, remember?'

'But she was only named Jo in that timeline because I died. I didn't die this time, remember? So why can't we give her a different name?'

'Because I don't want to give her a different name; I like the way Josephine Lutoni sounds.'

'But Josephine Lutoni isn't very Silkoneon.'

'So? I'm not Silkoneon, so why should _our_ daughter have a Silkoneon name?'

'Can't we at least consider other names?' Joey sighed. 'I mean, I think Lillyannu Lutoni would be nice.'

'But she doesn't look like a Lillyannu.'

'Then what does she look like?'

'A Jo.'

'I'm not going to win, am I?' He pulled a face.

'Whatever gave you that idea?' Mai smirked back at him.

'Am I ever going to get a say in this relationship?'

'Not if I can help it.'

He gave her an amused, narrowed eyed look, before kissing her again.

'So what are your plans for the day?'

'Sleep,' Mai groaned as she rested her head against him, 'I feel like I've been awake forever.'

'Didn't sleep well again last night?' Joey frowned.

She shook her head and he wrapped his arms lovingly around her. For a few moments there was a tranquil kind of silence.

'Well there's nothing to stop us from spending the day in bed you know,' Joey's voice was almost sly. 'I mean, Covo is taking Ahna and Crovell out for the day, Korin's gone to visit some of her friends in the Temple of Mov and it's not like the rest of my household will fall apart if I don't give them detailed moment by moment instructions for just one day.'

'So you've finally worked out your people don't constantly need you with your fingers gripped tightly to the steering wheel in order to survive then?' Mai shot him a cheeky look.

'I know, it's about time, right,' Joey laughed. 'So what do you say to you, me and the bed? I mean, you wouldn't have to worry about getting dressed...'

'Joey!' She hit him playfully.

'Oh come on, don't tell me you're not in the least bit tempted.'

'Well I am tired...'

'Then it's decided,' Joey kissed her again, before making his way towards the door, 'you get yourself settled; I'll be back in a minute.'

* * *

'Tristan!'

For a few long moments Tristan's face was filled with an almost dazed looking expression. Then something seemed to click and a polite little smile pulled across his face.

'Hey Serenity, Téa said something about you staying with her for a few days.'

'She and Yugi have promised to take me to see my brother,' Serenity grinned at him. 'Can you believe I'm an aunty?'

'Will this be the first time you've seen the baby?'

'Yeah,' she nodded, 'we're going tomorrow afternoon.'

'Well I hope…' the rest of his sentence was cut off by a loud yawn. 'Sorry.'

'You look really tired,' Serenity frowned at him, 'are you okay?'

'I take it nobody told you that's not exactly my favourite question anymore,' he yawned again. 'I'm fine... just a little sleep deprived.'

'Should you really be driving then?' She indicated towards the helmet in his hand and the bike behind him.

'I needed to get away for a while,' he shrugged and leant back against the bench he was sat on.

'Why?'

Tristan hesitated and for half a second a confused little expression filled his face. Then he just shrugged, got to his feet and put his helmet back on.

'Do you have plans?' Serenity studied him for a moment.

Tristan said nothing; instead he shrugged again and made his way towards his bike. Not sure quite what to make of his response, Serenity followed him.

'Why don't you come back with me to Téa's?' She placed a hand on his arm.

Again Tristan didn't reply. Instead his whole body appeared to tense.

'Tristan, are... are you okay?' Serenity frowned at him. 'Tristan?'

'Sorry, I forgot what I was doing there for a moment,' Tristan got onto his bike and placed the key into the ignition.

'Forgot what you were doing,' Serenity tried to keep the concern out of her voice, 'are you really _that_ tired?'

Once again Tristan responded by shrugging back at her.

'Tristan I'm worried about you, are you sure you should be driving?'

'I'll be fine,' turning the key, he fired up the engine, 'I just... I really have to get home.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

'I think I wanna collect dice,' Catilin's legs were kicking gently behind her as she lay on her stomach building small towers out of the little plastic cubes in front of her.

'You mean you want to play Dungeon Dice Monsters?' Duke frowned.

'No,' she shook her head, 'I just wanna collect dice.'

'Do you always have to be so weird?' A small smirk pulled at his lips.

'You think I'm weird?' Catilin's eyes lifted to meet with his.

'I think you're about the weirdest person I know,' he laughed, 'but in a good way.'

'So you think it's good to be weird?'

'Not for everybody, but for some people a little bit of weirdness is a good thing.'

'Okay,' she smiled at him, 'so do you always spend your time when you're not at Veronie's here?'

'Not all of it, but a lot of it. Companies don't run themselves you know.'

'Is it normal for teenagers to have their own companies?' Catilin rolled onto her back.

'Not really, no.'

'So I guess that makes you and Kaiba a little bit weird, huh?'

'Yeah, I guess it does,' he laughed. 'Although if I were you I'd reframe from pointing that out to Kaiba, I don't think he'd be as okay with it as I am.'

'How come, everything Kaiba seems to do is a little bit weird,' Catilin turned herself round into a sitting position, 'when he's not being scary and angry I mean. I've seen the way he acts when he thinks no one else can see him, it's very weird. But then they all are in that house.'

'Wait, you mean you've been spying on the Kaibas?' Duke stared at her.

'Uh-huh,' her expression was calm and unashamed.

'You know spying on people is wrong, right?'

'But... hiet braysta was doing it back when Crovell was really tiny,' Catilin tilted her head in confusion, 'why would he do something that was wrong?'

'Because sometimes he's an idiot,' Duke rolled his eyes. 'Come on Cat, it's not like you don't know the difference between right and wrong most of the time, what made you think spying on people was okay? And don't say it was just because of Joey, you know better than that.'

'Sometimes I do things because they feel like I should do them,' she lowered her gaze. 'Something was telling me I needed to and I always listen to that feeling even if I'm not sure if what its asking me to do is a good thing or not. It's what it means to be a Calicaccu; you have to trust those instincts.'

'And have they told you anything you don't already know yet?' Duke studied her carefully.

'It told me Kaibas and Tristan are all pretty weird sometimes, but I'm still not sure I understand why.'

'I don't think people are meant to understand other peoples' weirdness,' he shrugged, 'not unless they really want to.'

'Does that mean you want to understand my weirdness then?' Catilin's deep brown eyes blinked up at him.

'I think I'm already starting to understand it really well,' he smiled at her, 'that's why I think it's time I did this properly.'

'Did what properly?' Catilin looked confused.

'Asked you out on a date,' he laughed. 'I mean, if you're interested, would you like to go on a date with me?'

* * *

With his eyes half closed, Joey lazily rested his head against her stomach and listened.

'I can hear her heartbeat.'

'You cannot,' Mai rolled her eyes, 'your hearing's not that good.'

'I'm insulted,' he shot her an indignant look, 'wolves have excellent hearing you know.'

'Yeah, but I still don't think it's that good,' she yawned. 'So much for spending the day asleep.'

'Maybe I should leave you on your own for a few hours,' his face filled with an apologetic look, 'after all; I'm the one keeping you up.'

'Do you mind?'

'Of course not,' leaning over her, he gently kissed her forehead, 'there are always thing I could be getting on with, you know that.'

Leaving her with her eyes closed, Joey left the room and began making his way towards the garden. Winter was well and truly over now, but with everything that had been going on the last few months he'd been neglecting his gardening work more than a little. It made him feel strangely bad, like he was letting his Khine down or something. After all, Simüte was fabled to have been an even better gardener than Makay. The very notion of the word _fabled_ made a strange little smirk pull at Joey's lips. Life as a Lutoni shouldn't be this complicated and yet he was somehow glad it was.

He paused for a moment in the doorway which led out into the main section of the garden and took a deep breath in. Everything felt strangely calm, refreshing and invigorating all at the same time. As he exhaled he spotted a young woman stood in the shade of one of the trees. She was too far away for him to make out how old she was and it didn't help that half of her face was obscured by a bob of ash blonde hair. He made his way towards her and as he did he was able to make out the details of her outfit; a black leather waistcoat, laced up at the front with what appeared to be black ribbon, a short black skirt and a black pair of over the knee healed boots.

As he continued to move towards her, she began to move her fingers and arms in an alluringly _come hither_ manner which made something in Joey stir. Then without warning, the second he was less than a meter away from her, she disappeared into nothing. The disappointment he felt was unbelievable; there had been something so invitingly familiar about her it was as though he'd known her his whole life. A spiky feeling shot through his stomach, quickly followed by a surge of guilt. He wasn't sure quite why he was feeling this way, but it was enough to make him forget about what he was supposed to be doing and head back inside.

Once inside he made a beeline for the chamber Mai was sleeping in. As quietly as he could he pushed the door open and glanced in at her. She was sound asleep and just as beautiful as any fairytale princess. A content sigh pushed its way out of him as he closed the door again. Almost as soon as he had the silence around him was cut by the shrill sound of ringing. For half a second he wasn't sure what it meant, then he remembered the phone. Without hesitation he made his way towards it and as he answered it he just prayed it hadn't woken Mai.

'Hello?' Joey kept his voice audible but low.

'Hey there big brother.'

'Oh hey Serenity.'

'It's still alright for me to come see you tomorrow, isn't it?'

'Of course, I'm really looking forward to it.'

Out of the corner of his eye, something moved. Turning towards it, Joey spotted the girl again. She was much closer now and he was able to make out the strange smile on the visible half of her face. He held a hand out towards her, indicated she should stay put, but she just shook her head and disappeared again. A strange feeling of unnerve moved through him as he gripped onto the phone table.

'Listen sis, I'm going to have to call you back,' he then hung up without giving her a chance to reply.

With an edgy feeling moving through his stomach, Joey made his way down the hall, back towards Mai's room. She was still fast asleep, although at this point he wasn't sure if he was glad about that or not. He wasn't sure why, but he suddenly needed to be close to her. Tiptoeing his way across the room, he carefully climbed into bed beside her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She was in such a deep state of slumber she didn't even stir at his touch.

Closing his eyes he allowed himself to breathe in the sweet scent of her hair. There was something so brisk and crisp about the familiarity of it which just washed away all the weird feelings he was having. Somehow in that same breath he managed to convince himself he'd just been imagining things; although he knew full well only time would tell whether or not he wasn't.

* * *

'You're just doing this to wind me up now, aren't you?' Kaiba glared at him almost as soon as he entered the mansion.

'You know you didn't have to wait up for me, right Seto?' Tristan smirked, as he placed his helmet down on the hall table.

'This is no time for jokes Tristan, what if something had happened?'

'Then I wouldn't be stood talking to you now, would I?' He shrugged. 'I wish you would just relax a little bit.'

'_Relax?_ You want me to _relax _a little bit,' the seething level of anger which moved through his voice was almost unbearable, 'what if you'd forgotten how to ride in the middle of a busy road somewhere? I've been hiding your keys for a reason.'

'_You've_ been hiding my keys,' Tristan shot him a look, 'seriously?'

'We agreed...'

'I don't remember agreeing to something like that,' he shook his head, 'and I'm not sure I believe I would. You know I'm starting to think sometimes you're just using this situation to your own advantage; you do something I don't like and you can go _well you were okay with it when..._ and you know... you know I can't prove it one way or another.'

'I wouldn't do that,' Kaiba gritted his teeth, 'give me some shred of humanity please.'

'I would love to Seto, but you're making it so damn hard right now. Great,' he gave a strange laugh and shook his head, 'now I remember why I needed to get out of here for a while? If I remembered sooner I wouldn't have come back just yet. I'm supposed to be your friend Seto, not your prisoner.'

'You are my friend,' he shifted his gaze away, 'stop trying to make me feel like the bad guy here, it isn't fair.'

'Because everything else about this situation is just so damn fair, right?' Tristan glared at him.

'Give me your keys Tristan,' Kaiba's voice was low as he held his hand out.

'What?'

'Give me the keys, now.'

'You can't be serious...'

'I am. Give them to me. Please.'

'Fine,' in a burst of anger Tristan threw the keys at him, 'but I'm going to go stay with my parents for a few days.'

'You can't,' Kaiba's voice remained low.

'Why? Because you don't want them to know I'm even more of a head case now than I was? Or because you can't deal with _him_ on your own,' he jabbed a finger in the direction of the stairs.

'You're _not_ a head case,' Kaiba met and held his gaze, 'this little... _problem_ of yours does _not_ make you a head case.'

'Then what does it make me Seto, because I sure as hell feel like I'm losing my mind here. Oh, but lucky me I keep finding it again, don't I? Losing it then finding it then losing it. It's like a never ending cycle. A never ending cycle made worse because I'm not getting enough sleep,' Tristan gave a slightly hysterical laugh as he pressed his hands against his head. 'I'm so tired... I'm so tired I just want to sleep.'

'You can sleep now if you want,' Kaiba took half a step towards him, then hesitated.

'No I can't,' he shook his head, 'and neither can you. Maybe we should consider having him sectioned.'

'We can't; he can't go into a place like that.'

'Why not?' Tristan glared at him again. 'It was good enough for me, wasn't it?'

'Yes, you're right; it was good enough for you. But you weren't likely to use your powers against the staff,' Kaiba shook his head. 'I'm scared of what he's capable of and don't tell me you're not.'

'I'm scared of a lot of things right now Seto,' wearily he rubbed his face with with hands, 'but mostly I just want sleep.'

'Then go sleep,' Kaiba sighed, 'we'll talk about this again in the morning.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

'You actually saw Tristan?' Téa laughed in shocked amusement. 'As in saw him, saw him? All actually out in the real world and everything. Hell it's been so long since I've actually seen him I've practically forgotten what he looks like.'

'Don't you talk to him anymore?' Serenity frowned at her.

'Sure, on the phone, when he's in the right mood for me, but nobody actually _sees_ him anymore. Well nobody but Kaiba and Mokuba that is.'

'How come?'

'You'll have to ask him about that.'

'Do you never arrange to meet up with him?'

'Yeah, all the time, but it's always cancelled at the last minute.'

'Does he say way?'

'He's never the one who cancels it,' Téa shook her head.

'So then who does?' Serenity stared at her.

'_Kaiba_,' Téa's whole expression exaggerated the word, 'I swear he thinks he owns Tristan or something.'

'Why? I mean, Joey said something about the two of them being friends now, but he was pretty weird about it.'

'Of course he was. We're all pretty weird about it, especially now the two of them are living together and Kaiba thinks he has the god given right to control Tristan's every move.'

'They're living together?' Serenity looked more than a little surprised.

'Didn't Joey mention that one?'

'No,' Serenity shook her head. 'So they're friends and their living together, that isn't that weird, is it?'

'It's a lot weird when Tristan's allowing himself to be controlled because of it,' Téa folded her arms as her face pulled with an expression of disgust. 'And it's just so... frustrating, it really is. I mean, I know me and Tristan haven't exactly been getting on recently, but there are times when I'm on the phone to him and it's almost like old times again. He'll laugh and talk and joke around as if the last year never happened. Then I'll say something which makes him act all weird and he'll just rush off the phone like he's allergic to talking to me or something. And what makes it worse is that half the time the thing I say to make him act all weird has been prompted by something _he_ said,' Téa gave a heavy sigh. 'I just don't get him anymore.'

'Maybe he just doesn't know how to act around you guys anymore,' Serenity lowered her gaze, 'Joey said something about him being... ill not long ago. Maybe he's just finding it really hard to adjust.'

'That's what I keep telling myself, but Tristan has this way of making me feel like I'm the one with the problem,' Téa pulled a face, 'he has done ever since the Battle City tournament ended. There might be times now where things are normal between the two of us, but there's still a lot of... I don't know; he's just not always in the mood for me I guess. Still, never mind Tristan, I bet you're excited about seeing Crovell tomorrow.'

'Of course I am,' Serenity grinned. 'I've been looking forward to it ever since I heard about him. I just wish I could get here sooner.'

'You're just going to die when you see him; Crovell is the cutest baby ever.'

'So he must take after Ahna for looks then,' Serenity laughed. 'Speaking of which, what is Ahna like?'

'Uh...' Téa hesitated, 'well I don't really know her that well. If I'm being honest with you I kind of avoid talking to her. It makes me feel like I'm being disloyal to Mai or something. I mean, I know the two are getting on a lot better now, but still...'

'I guess that's understandable. So how is Mai doing?'

'She's just glowing every time I see her,' Téa grinned, 'I take it you know she's pregnant, right?'

'I had to wait a week to find out my nephew had been born, but pretty much the day he found out Mai was pregnant he was on the phone to me,' Serenity's face filled with an amused look. 'I'm so excited for them.'

'We all are,' Téa smiled. 'So do you know what time your brother's expecting us tomorrow?'

'Sometime in the afternoon I think, he said he'd arrange the details properly in the morning once everyone was up.'

'Good,' Téa clapped her hands together, 'that means we'll have time to do some shopping first.'

* * *

Tristan was stood in the middle of the main living room, staring intensely at the clock sitting on the mantle when Kaiba came across him. It had been nearly three hours since the two of them had last spoken and Kaiba was more than a little surprised to find Tristan still awake.

'I thought you were tired,' Kaiba folded his arms and leant against the door frame.

'I was wondering why I was in bed,' there were subtle tones in Tristan's voice which made him sound like a pre-teen.

The sound of it made an involuntary sigh pull its way out of Kaiba; he knew what that voice meant.

'How long have you been staring at that thing for?'

'A while,' Tristan shrugged and continued to keep his gaze focused on the time piece, 'I'm trying to remember what it does.'

'How...' Kaiba hesitated; he always hated asking this question, 'how much have you forgotten?'

'How much have I forgotten,' finally Tristan's eyes turned towards him, 'that's a funny question, how would I know the answer to it?'

'Do you remember who I am?'

'You're Seto Kaiba.'

'And what about who you are?'

Tristan hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.

'Will it come back to me?'

'Yeah,' Kaiba averted his gaze slightly, 'it usually does, but since you can still remember some things not all of it will come back right away.'

'Why not?'

'I don't know; it's just the way it seems to work. I...' Kaiba hesitated. 'You shouldn't have allowed yourself to get so worked up earlier,' he gritted his teeth; almost ashamed of his inability to admit he was in the wrong too, 'heightened emotions makes it worse.'

'I was worked up earlier?' Tristan stared at him in confusion. 'Why?'

'I... It doesn't matter.'

'Seto...?'

His sentence was cut off by the sound of screaming. Tristan instantly clamped his hands over his ears and Kaiba wasn't sure he blamed him; the sound was horrific. After a long couple of moments the scream fell silent.

'Lus braysta's in pain, isn't he Seto?' Tristan's voice was small as he lowered his hands.

'You remember who he is?'

'I think I do. Do you want me to go comfort him?'

'No... No I should deal with him,' Kaiba sighed and turned away, 'I know you want to help but it'll just upset you and that won't help anyone.'

'But right now lus braysta frightens you,' Tristan crossed the room and placed a hand on Kaiba's arm. 'Let me help you Seto, I want to help.'

* * *

He hummed quietly to himself as he lifted the binoculars to his eyes and used them to get a better view of the room. He could see his prize just lying there on the table, totally unguarded. It was beautiful; much more so than the last time he'd seen it. It was almost ready now too. Soon... soon it would be ready and ripe for the plucking; he just had to wait a little bit longer.

'I won't let you do this,' a voice sounded from behind him.

'As if you have a say in the matter,' he kept his gaze trained on his prize.

'Your behaviour is frightening me; it's not like you.'

'Shut up.'

'I thought maybe you were just going through some kind of phase, but now I think you're losing your mind. You need help.'

'Shut up.'

'No, I won't shut up, not till you listen to me.'

'Shut up.'

'I told you I won't shut up. Something's happening to you. Something bad and you need to get help, before it's too late. Please, let me help you.'

'Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. SHUT UP!' He spun round to face his companion, but no one was there. 'Shut up, leave me alone,' he crammed his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. 'Just leave me alone!'

* * *

'Good evening.'

The soft and gentle warmth of Joey's lips pressed against hers as she slowly started to rouse.

'Evening?' Mai yawned as she stretched. 'Have I really been asleep that long?'

'Yep.'

'What time is it?'

'Late.'

'That doesn't really answer my question,' she yawned again.

'I know. So how are you feeling?'

'Tired,' she half closed her eyes again, 'I don't care how long you say I've been asleep for, I don't feel like I've had any at all.'

'Give yourself a chance to wake up first,' he laughed, 'nobody I know is full of energy the second they wake up. Maybe a little food will help rouse you, I was thinking about a late supper in bed.'

'I suppose I am a little hungry,' she pressed her lips together in thought.

'So you should be, you are eating for two,' he smirked as he kissed her. 'I wish I had that excuse.'

'Like you need it.'

'True,' he grinned. 'So do you want me to get something to eat then?'

'Yeah, just don't take too long; I'm not sure if I can keep my eyes open much longer.'

'Sure,' he kissed her for a third time as he got up from the bed. 'Just try and stay awake whilst you wait.'


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was late and the other two were finally in bed, although Kaiba somehow doubted they were sleeping. Or if they were sleeping the chances of either of them staying asleep for long were pretty slim. His whole being felt exhausted as he took a deep breath in and stepped out into the garden. The cool chill of the night air was refreshing. For a few long moments he allowed himself to get completely lost in it, then the distant sound of screaming ripped through the calm and set every inch of his body on edge.

Lowering his head slightly he counted the number of screams which followed the first. Eight; that meant Tristan was with him now and Kaiba didn't have to deal with it. Not this time. A part of him felt bad for thinking that way, but he couldn't help it, the situation was just getting worse and there was nothing he could do about it.

'Hi Kaiba.'

The sound of her voice startled him slightly. Turning he saw Catilin watching him from the corner of the room. She held his gaze for a moment, before shifting it away. A mixture of anger and curiosity filled him as he pulled himself back inside.

'What are you doing here?'

'Watching you,' her voice was as strangely honest as she was, 'I've been watching you for a while now. I thought you wanted to put Crovell in charge, but you haven't done a thing to even try for ages. You just act all weird and...' she shifted her gaze towards the door leading into the rest of the mansion, 'so do they. This palace feels weird too.'

'It's not a palace,' Kaiba rolled his eyes, 'and I don't appreciate the fact you've been spying on us.'

'Duke said it was wrong of me,' Catilin placed her hands behind her back and began twisting her toe against the ground like some kind of naughty school kid, 'that's why I came here to apologise. I know it was wrong of me, but I saw a little of that hell future and I don't want things to end up like that. So if Crovell needs to be in charge then I want to help get him there. I thought that's what you wanted too.'

'It is,' Kaiba sighed, 'but right now there are more important things going on. Besides, Crovell's still a brat of a baby right now, even if he was in control tomorrow it wouldn't make that much of a difference.'

'So you're waiting on purpose then?'

Kaiba shrugged and folded his arms. He wasn't totally sure he liked having this conversation with her, but at the same time his attention had been so focused on other things he'd almost forgotten Crovell even existed, never mind anything else; so it was nice to be reminded of that situation again.

'I am sorry I've been watching you,' Catilin tilted her head to one side, 'and I'm also sorry for not trusting you to know what you're doing. I just thought... I thought you'd be doing something to help Crovell sooner rather than later. I didn't even think about him not being able to do much as a baby, why would I? He's a pretty smart baby you know; he can do things, lots of things. So I just thought...'

'Do you ever just shut up?' Kaiba cut her off. 'I don't care what you have to say. I don't care why you think you're here or what you want from me or any of it. In case you hadn't worked this out Catilin, I don't particularly like you. Everyone else might be able to forget what you've done, but I can't. You're the last person in the whole multiverse I'd want help from. So just forget whatever reason it is you think you're here for and just leave me and my family alone.'

'But...'

'No buts Catilin; I can't stand you or the way you talk or what you are or what you represent. I simply cannot stand you. And I want you to leave now.'

'I...' Catilin's face fell. 'Okay, I'm sorry, I won't bother you again.'

'Good, see that you don't.'

* * *

Angrily he knocked the clock onto the floor and turned away from it. Having to deal with nonsensical timepieces was just frustrating when he knew most of his memory was intact. Because when most of his memory was intact he could actually remember what it was like to tell the time. He could remember little things, like the difference between a twelve hour and a twenty-four hour clock. He could remember how old he was when he first learnt to tell the time. Hell he even could remember the exact details of what his first watch looked like, but the one thing he couldn't remember was how to actually do it. And maybe it was just because the numbers themselves no longer made sense to him, but he always felt like it was more than that.

Well, maybe he felt like it was more than that when he had enough memory to remember the details of his first watch. When most things were just there ready and accessible to him, the little things which bothered him _really_ bothered him. But when most things were gone, like they had been a few hours earlier, he didn't really care. As he flipped himself back onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, his mind began circling some pretty deep thoughts. In the state he was in now he could remember what it was like to remember nothing just as clearly as he could remember what it was like to know everything he was supposed to know. A weird sensation moved through him, disconnecting him from his mindless self and reaching out towards the person he used to be.

An almost ironic laugh pushed itself out of him; he'd spent a long time running away from himself and now he'd give anything just to run towards it. It was crazy, but at the same time... He half closed his eyes and began to focus on the movement of his chest. Breathing was such an easy thing to do. It didn't require any memory or knowledge of yourself; it was just something you did without really thinking about it. He found the idea strangely comforting and in the haze of weariness which was his mind he found himself fixating on each and every breath he took.

'If only sleeping was like breathing,' his eyes fully closed as if he was trying to lull himself into some sort of trance. 'If only sleeping was something you could just do without thinking about it. I know it should be, but it never is. After all, you plan for sleep. When you go to bed at night you plan to sleep. You don't plan to breathe, you just do it. And if sleeping really were like breathing, that's what I'd be doing right now,' his mind began to drift lazily, 'and what's more, I wouldn't wake up, ever. Then I wouldn't have to worry about anything. You don't have problems when you sleep; you just have problems getting there,' his voice developed a strangely heavy tone as he felt himself almost sink down into the mattress beneath him. 'You don't need to remember things when you sleep. You don't need to know who you are, you just sleep and that's it, your subconscious takes over and everything's fine,' he gave a heavy sigh and rolled onto his side. 'Sleep… please let me sleep.'

* * *

The room was dark, lit only by a single strobe light flashing in time to the loud, obscure music playing all around her. There was something familiar about this place. Its atmosphere and music lured her in, driving a strange kind of free energy through her body. She wanted to dance. No, it was more than that; she needed to dance and with every fluid movement her body made her whole being just buzzed. She wasn't alone either. Either side of her and close enough for her to feel the heat steaming off of their bodies were two fellow dancers; one male, one female. They danced with the same kind of invigorating energy she had and it only made her sense of careless freedom grow.

She didn't know where this place was or why they were there, but she knew they were alone. No one lurked in the shadows. No one sat behind the turntables spinning out obscure song after obscure song. No one was at the bar buying drinks. No one else was on the dance floor. It was just the three of them and if she allowed herself to think about it for too long it might have concerned her. But she didn't think about it; she couldn't. Her senses... her whole being was filled with the energy created by their dancing.

Without warning they both grabbed hold of her hands and led her across the room. Their touch alone made her body ache with a kind of longing she'd never experienced before. It's why she wasn't afraid to follow them. Why she didn't question them laying her gently over a table. Why she savoured every single kiss he gave her, even though she knew they were using it as a distraction.

When she felt the cold edge of steel press against her stomach she didn't cry out or feel afraid. Instead she lifted her arm up and placed her hand behind his head, deepening the kisses they were sharing. As she felt the blade penetrate her skin, a small smile tugged at her lips. She felt pain and discomfort as the knife sliced through her, but it really didn't bother her. Somewhere in her head she knew they had to do this. Somewhere in her head she knew she _wanted_ them to do this.

The slicing sensation stopped and was replaced by the strange sensation of something reaching into her and tugging on something. Something inside of her. Something important. Something which they _needed_ to take out...

* * *

Mai gasped as she shot up into a sitting position. For half a second she found herself paralysed with terror, before wrapping both of her arms protectively around her stomach.

'Joey...' her voice was little more than a fearful whisper as she stared down at him, 'Joey, wake up.'

He didn't stir.

'Joey,' she forced herself to reach a hand out towards him and shake him, 'Joey, please wake up.'

He groaned, rolled over and remained asleep.

'Joey,' she shook him harder, 'Joey I need you to wake up.'

'What is it?' Joey rubbed his face as he slowly came round. 'Mai, are you alright?' He sat up the second he saw the look on her face.

Mai just sat there shaking her head for a few moments.

'Mai...'

'Oh god,' she fell into his arms, 'I think I've lost her.'

'What?' Joey sounded confused.

'Something's wrong,' she couldn't keep the fear out of her voice, 'I know something's wrong. Oh god, I think I've lost her. I think I've lost her.'

'I... I don't understand,' Joey's voice trembled slightly, 'what are you saying?'

'I think I've lost her. I think I've lost her. I think I've lost her.'

'Lost who?' He swallowed hard. 'Mai please, you're scaring me.'

'Get me to a hospital; you have to get me to a hospital. Please. Please. I think I've lost her. Oh god...'

'Mai... I don't understand... what... what are you trying to say?'

'I think I lost her,' she sobbed, 'I think I've lost our baby.'


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Mai began chewing her lower lip awkwardly as she stared down as the crisp, white tiled floor. She felt more than a little foolish now and she wasn't completely sure she was going to be able to live this one down.

'I'm sorry I caused so much fuss,' her eyes lifted to meet with a clearly exhausted Joey's.

'Don't worry about it,' he pulled her into a hug. 'You had a bad dream and it upset you. I'm just glad that's all it was.'

'But it... it all seemed so real...'

'Dreams can be like that sometimes,' he kissed the top of her head as he continued to hold her tight. 'Do you feel up for going home now?'

'Yeah...' shakily she nodded her head.

'Then let's go.'

* * *

'Are you sure I need to be there?' Covo pulled a face as he watched Ahna dress Crovell.

'Oh no, you are not backing out of this one Macar Covo,' Ahna shot him a look, 'I need you there.'

'But won't it be like really weird for her? I mean, what am I in this situation exactly? Just another face to terrify her with?'

'Yeah, because that's so much worse than being some evil little home wrecker.'

'You're not a home wrecker.'

'Then what am I exactly; the girl who tricked her brother into having a baby? Covo I need you there.'

'But it just feels so socially awkward.'

'It is socially awkward, but please, I need you to do this for me.'

'Alight.'

She smiled at him, before making her way towards the door. They'd only made it a few feet down the corridor when Catilin appeared almost out of nowhere. As she turned to face them, she placed her hands behind her back in a manner which made her whole body look strangely awkward.

'Catilin are you alright?' Ahna frowned as she noted the dark circles under Catilin's eyes.

'Can I talk to you alone please Ahna?'

'Sure,' she passed Crovell over to Covo, 'go on ahead would you, I'll be along in a few minutes.'

'Okay,' his face filled with an uncomfortable smile, 'but please don't take too long, she's going to be here soon.'

'I know,' she kissed him quickly, before sending him on his way.

Once he was gone she focused her attention on Catilin.

'Have you been spying on Kaiba again?'

'Yes, but I won't be anymore,' Catilin averted her gaze, 'Duke said it wasn't a good idea.'

'I said it wasn't a good idea,' Ahna folded her arms, 'doesn't my opinion count for anything anymore?'

'It does, but... you always tell me things.'

'I know I always tell you things; that doesn't mean you shouldn't listen to them,' Ahna shook her head. 'I'm only trying to do what's best for you.'

'I know silly.'

'So are you going to tell me what this is about or not?'

'Ahna I have a date tonight,' Catilin's face took on an expression somewhere halfway between excitement and terror, 'I mean a real date, with plans and doing things and... _everything_.'

'You have a date?' Ahna wasn't quite sure how she felt about the idea.

'Uh-huh. He asked me yesterday and nobody's ever asked me on a date before and I wanted to go so I said yes, but then I started thinking maybe I'm not ready for this and... Ahna what am I supposed to do?'

'This date of yours, it is with Duke, right?' Ahna studied her for a moment. 'I mean, you're not going to tell me some random guy asked you out and you said yes, right?'

'Why would I wanna go on a date with some random guy,' she shook her head.

'So it is Duke then?'

'Uh-huh.'

'Okay, that's good; he's a good guy even if he is a little... obsessed with my son.'

'Or your son's obsessed with him,' Catilin giggled. 'They have a funny relationship.'

'I'm glad you think so,' Ahna rolled her eyes. 'Look Cat, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't go on this date with him tonight. It's normal to be nervous about it, if anything it just proves all the reasons why you should go on this date with him to begin with. Just do me a favour and keep this between us until you're sure things are going to turn out okay.'

'Why?'

'Because everyone will make a big deal out of it and that will put pressure on both you and Duke to get it right. And that always makes things harder.'

'Okay.'

'But I am happy for you Catilin, I really am.'

'Do you want me to tell you about it afterwards?' Catilin grinned at her. 'That's what girls do, right? They tell each other how their dates went.'

'If you want to Cat,' Ahna laughed, 'but I'll leave that up to you. It's not like I tell you everything which goes on between me and Covo.'

'That's true. How are you and Covo doing anyway? You said things were weird before, are they still weird?'

'Yes and no,' Ahna tilted her head to one side, 'I know that I love him; I mean, I'm much more certain of it now than I was, but... it still doesn't feel the way I expected love to feel. It's not explosive. It's not passionate. Yeah, there are little things he does which makes my heart race and I'm jealous as hell at the thought of anyone being closer to him than I am and that includes his sister, but... when I get right down to it... the love we have is just... still. And I don't mean that in a bad way, it feels solid and ridiculously stable considering we barely know each other. But at the same time... isn't your first real love supposed to be dramatic and heart racing and the living fulfilment of a gothic novel or something? I thought safe stable love was for when you were older.'

'Maybe, but... we are older. We're the oldest of our kind right now. We may not wanna be grownups but we are. We have responsibilities and stuff, so... maybe we don't get to have passionate heart racing love. Maybe we just get safe, responsible love. Maybe it's not what we thought we would get, but that doesn't mean it's not a good thing Ahna. Love is always a good thing, no matter what shaped box it comes in.'

* * *

The first thing Serenity noticed was just how tired Mai and Joey both looked. But whereas Joey was still pretty chirpy and happy, Mai just looked zoned out and not really with it. The second thing she noticed was how all four of them rallied around the baby. The way they acted was as if it was perfectly natural and normal for one kid to have four responsible _adults_ looking after him. They slotted together like some built for purpose unit rather than the most unconventional family Serenity had ever come across.

She and Téa took a seat on the couch, whilst Yugi hovered somewhere in the room behind them. He also looked as though he could do with a few extra hours of sleep, but she was far too polite to say anything. Instead she placed the little teddy bear she'd brought for Crovell that morning down on the table in front of her and waited for someone to break the silence.

'I'm sorry Serenity, you must think we're the rudest people ever,' Ahna smiled nervously.

'It's alright, I understand, Crovell is your first priority after all.'

'Would you like to hold him?'

'Yeah,' Serenity smiled, 'I would love to.'

Ahna moved towards the couch Serenity was sat on and carefully handed her son over. For a few moments the baby's large blue eyes just stared up at Serenity, then he started making happy, chirping sounds.

'He's so cute,' Serenity couldn't help but giggle with delight.

'Well what do you expect when he has me as his father?' Joey folded his arms.

'So he takes after you for looks then?' Serenity couldn't help but smirk at Ahna.

'Now that was uncalled for sis,' Joey shook his head, 'you're supposed to be on my side.'

'Why should she be when nobody else is,' Ahna poked her tongue out at him and laughed.

Joey rolled his eyes and turned his attention towards Yugi.

'You've been pretty quiet today, are you okay?'

'What?' Yugi sounded a little stunned. 'Oh, yeah I'm fine.'

'You sure?'

'Of course, I wouldn't say I was otherwise.'

Joey looked as though he was about to say something else when Duke suddenly appeared out of nowhere. To Serenity's confusion everyone's eyes turned towards the baby.

'You know someone's going to have to break that nasty little habit of yours Crovell,' Joey shook his head, 'because you're not getting away with this forever, that's for sure.'

* * *

He hadn't left his room in so long, he'd almost forgotten what the outside world looked like. But it didn't bother him. He was a monster. A danger to other people. He should be left to rot and die in here and never bother anybody ever again. More than once he'd considered just ending it all, then a weird spark of hope flashed somewhere deep inside the darkness of his mind. A memory containing the knowledge he needed to kill the monster and save everybody. There was just one problem; the monster didn't want him knowing what it was, so no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't reach it.

'I am the monster,' his voice was low as he etched something into his already heavily covered walls. 'I am the monster. I know I am the monster. But I don't want to be the monster. I don't have to be the monster. I have to cage the monster. I have to cage it and keep it caged. I'll draw. I'll draw. I'll draw the memories out. I'll draw the monster into its cage. And then... then when it's distracted I'll reach for the memory I need. I have to distract the monster. I have to draw the monster into its cage.'

Behind him, he heard the door gently open and a spike of anger raced through him; when would they learn he just wanted to be left alone?

'Are you hungry?'

'You can't eat if you have no stomach,' he kept his gaze focused on his drawing.

'But you have a stomach; do I really have to go over that again?'

'How do you know what I do and do not have? You can't see inside of me. For all you know I could be empty. An empty shell with nothing there. No stomach. No heart. Not even a soul.'

'You have a stomach and you have to eat. You'll make yourself ill if you don't.'

'I'll make myself ill if I do.'

'I won't let you starve.'

'But I won't starve. I won't starve,' his eyes began to examine what he'd been drawing. 'And if I do, at least I won't hurt anyone. I can't hurt anyone if I'm dead.'

'No, no you are not allowed to die. I told you...'

'What gives you the right to tell me anything,' he flicked an energy ball into his hand, 'your nothing but a skeleton, I'm the monster here. I'm the big bad. And big bads don't listen to anyone or anything. They don't need to. All they need to be is what they are; monsters.'

'Shut up, stop talking like that.'

'If you don't like it, then leave,' he causally threw the energy ball over his shoulder without caring what it connected with, 'I want to be on my own.'

'But...'

'I said leave,' he flicked another energy ball into his hand and glanced round at the person behind him, 'or I will make sure it hurts.'

He could see the fear on their face as they backed away. Within seconds they'd left the room and he was on his own again. Almost as soon as he was a grotesque images filled his head. Fear rose in his stomach like sick and a shrill scream of terror escaped his lips.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

It had been quiet for more than an hour now and Kaiba, more out of curiosity than anything, decided he needed to know why. He began by heading towards his brother's room, but almost as soon as he reached the door he found himself pulling away again. He couldn't face him. Not again. Not so soon after the last time. Taking a deep breath in he began checking out the other rooms on that floor, before moving on to the rest of the house.

He found Tristan in one of the smaller rooms on the ground floor, stretched out on the couch, with his eyes closed and a pillow under his head. Kaiba's eyes did a quick visual check of the room as he leant against the door frame. It was sparsely decorated. There was a table, a couch, a mirror hung above the mantle and a couple of unused picture frames. Apart from that there was nothing, not even a clock.

'You know I can't sleep with you watching me,' Tristan's voice was flat.

'I thought you were already asleep.'

'Living in this house has made me a light sleeper,' he rolled onto his side. 'Now are you going to let me sleep, or what?'

'I'm sorry, since when was this your bedroom?'

'Since it became the only room in this whole damn house I could get any sleep in,' he sounded more than a little irritated. 'Now will you leave?'

'I'm sorry, I didn't realise this was _your_ mansion,' Kaiba folded his arms, 'and here I thought I was the one paying all the bills. Doesn't that mean I have a right to stay in whatever room I choose?'

In reply, Tristan lazily raised his left arm and made shooing motions with his hand.

'I'm not leaving Tristan,' Kaiba wasn't sure if his need to stay was him being stubborn or childish, 'if you're really that desperate for sleep, you can always find some other room to do it in.'

There was no response and, after a few moments, the deep sound breathing reached Kaiba's ears.

'And I thought you said you couldn't sleep,' Kaiba rolled his eyes.

He sighed and rested his head against the doorframe. He wasn't quite sure how long he'd been stood there for when he realised he was literally watching Tristan sleep. His whole body fidgeted uncomfortably as he tried to come up with a good reason for him to still be stood here like this, aware with every passing second that the situation was just getting weirder and weirder. Just as he managed to convince himself the best thing he could do was leave and never think about it again, he became aware of the fact he was being watched.

Looking up he saw a youth of indistinguishable age stood in the far corner of the room. The youth's chocolate brown hair was neatly parted in the centre, with the right half cropped short and the left half falling level with his chin, hiding that side of his face completely. He was shirtless, but he wore an open black leather waistcoat casually over his exposed flesh. His tight black jeans flared slightly over his pointed black boots and his visible brown eye glinted curiously at Kaiba.

'Who are you?' Kaiba's whole body tensed. 'And what the hell are you doing in my house?'

The youth didn't reply. Instead he continued to silently observe Kaiba.

'I asked you a question,' his jaw hardened, 'what are you doing…?'

Before he could finish the sentence, Kaiba felt the words catch in his throat and was alarmed to find himself completely unable to move. The youth slinked towards him, with a strange smile spread across his face. He came to a stop an inch in front of him and lightly brushed a tussle of Kaiba's hair away from his forehead. The youth then tentatively began to trace Kaiba's features with his fingers, his single visible eye following the movement with fascination.

Eventually the youth's hand came to a rest under Kaiba's chin. Their gazes met and, even though he never said a word, it was clear what he was thinking; _I have complete control over your body._ Internally Kaiba raged. He couldn't believe this was happening. He couldn't believe he was letting this happen. Everything in him willed him to move but, despite his best effort, he remained frozen where he was. Kaiba cast a glance towards the body still sleeping on the couch and willed him to wake up. All he got for his silent pleading was a heavy, sleep filled sigh.

The warmth of a hand on the side of his face forced Kaiba to turn his attention back to the youth, whose visible eye was once again closely examining him. There was something about the up and down motion of the youth's eye which made Kaiba realise just what was coming next. He tried to pull away, but it was useless, his body was as frozen now as it had been before. With nothing else he could do, he just stood there as the youth leaned in to kiss him.

After what felt like an insufferable eternity, the youth pulled away and lightly stroked Kaiba's cheek, before slowly turning and walking back towards the other side of the room. Halfway across he stopped and turned towards Kaiba again. Kissing the fore and middle finger of his right hand, the youth flicked his hand towards Kaiba, before vanishing without a trace.

Almost instantly Kaiba felt his paralysis lift. Shaking in anger and confusion, he slid to the floor and ran his fingers tensely through his hair, furious he'd allowed someone to have so much power over him. He cast a nervous glance towards Tristan, who was still fast asleep, and a slight twinge of guilt ran through him, but almost as soon as it had, he suppressed it. Taking a deep, calming breath in, he rose to his feet and, without any further hesitation, left the room.

* * *

'Oh come on, this date isn't that boring, is it?' Duke teased as she yawned for the fifth or sixth time.

'Sorry,' she rubbed her eyes, 'I didn't think I was this tired.'

'Are you sure this isn't your subtle way of telling me you wish you hadn't agreed to a date?'

Instantly her face took on a hurt expression and Duke regretted his choice of words. He knew from past experiences with her jokes like that weren't always such a great idea since she didn't always get them.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean it the way it sounded,' he shifted his gaze away. 'So why exactly did you want this first date of ours to be a picnic exactly?'

'Because I always thought it would be,' she grinned, 'that's why it had to be on Sil.'

'You always thought your first date with me would be a picnic on Sil?' Duke cocked an eyebrow at her.

'No, I always thought my first date _ever_ would be a picnic on Sil,' Catilin tilted her head to one side in thought. 'Is eighteen too old to be going on your first ever date? Because before I came to live on Sil all my friends were going on their first dates. That's what it felt like anyway. I didn't mind, but...'

'I don't think there's an age limit Cat, people go on their first date when they go on their first date,' Duke's face filled with a soft smile. 'Besides, isn't it more important it's a good first date?'

'Uh-huh,' she nodded, 'and this is a good first date, right?'

'Right,' he laughed, 'even if you are trying to fall asleep on me.'

'I'm sorry...'

'It's okay Cat,' he held his hands up to stop her apologising again. 'So how did you find this place?' Duke glanced round the wooded area they were in.

'I spent a lot of time exploring when I was living here on my own,' Catilin grinned. 'There wasn't a whole lot else to do and even though everything looked different back then I still knew this place was really pretty. It's near to the circle where the Guardians of Sil are trained. That's where I took Veronie on his first day here. But it's a special sort of place so I couldn't take you there too, sorry.'

'That's okay, I like this place, it reminds me of a den I used to have as a kid.'

'You had a den as a kid?'

'It was in the woods behind my Dad's estate,' Duke smiled as he remembered, 'I'd almost forgotten about it until today.'

'You…' the rest of her sentence was cut off by a loud yawn.

'You know maybe we should call it a night,' he gentle stroked some of her hair back behind her ear, 'you've looked pretty tired all evening.'

'I am pretty tired, but... I don't want it to come to an end yet.'

'Well don't think of it as coming to an end,' he met her gaze, 'think of it as going on hold for a few hours. We'll do the second part tomorrow.'

'Second part?'

'Yeah, all dates are supposed to have second parts you know,' he laughed, 'and this time it's my choice what we do.'


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

It was late, but Nayta had felt the need to meditate. Ever since the incident with the wolves she'd been finding it harder and harder to get any real sleep, but the mental rest she got meditating was a good enough substitute. As usual she was sat in the centre of her shop, for some reason she always felt more relaxed down here than she did in her apartment above. Or at least she did usually; tonight, however, she just couldn't get herself settled.

The sound of a bell tinkering caused her eyes to shoot open. She was certain she'd locked the door to her shop and yet three strangers were now stood just in front of it silently watching her. The trio consisted of two girls and a guy. The taller of the two girls had a bob of ash blonde hair and wore a black waistcoat laced at the front with ribbon, a short black skirt and a pair of over the knee black boots. The other girl was more of a dusty blonde with her hair falling in what looked like flattened tatty dreads to her waist. She was dressed in a strapless black dress with a flared skirt and a pair of black ankle boots. The guy's brown hair was literally cut into a half short, half long style and he wore nothing but a black waistcoat, trousers and boots. All three of them were unified by the waxy, toothless smiles they were wearing and the fact their varying hairstyles completely hid the left sides of their faces.

'It's late and I'm closed,' Nayta rose to her feet, 'I'm sorry if my leaving the door unlocked caused you some kind of confusion, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave.'

Not one of them said a word. Instead they all continued to stare at her with those waxy smiles pulled across their faces. Smiles made even creepier by the flickering candle light the room was lit with.

'If you're looking for a place to sleep for the night there's an inn a few doors down; but you can't stay here, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave now.'

Their silence continued as the ash blonde made her way across the shop towards one of the display cases. Her head tilted to the right as she placed her hands against the glass and stared in at the items inside.

'I'm closed right now,' Nayta took several steps towards the girl, 'you need to leave.'

The ash blonde's visible eye lifted to meet with Nayta's. There was something about it which looked strangely young and playful, but at the same time... Nayta shuddered as she watched the girl point towards one of the rings in the display case.

'I'll be more than happy to show you it,' Nayta kept her voice as calm and level as possible, 'tomorrow. I'm closed right now; please leave and come back...'

Before she could finish her sentence, her body became numb and rigid. Against her will she found herself moving behind the counter and reaching for the key to the display case. She then walked back towards where the ash blonde was waiting and got the ring out for her. The girl eagerly took it off her and studied it up close for a few long moments as though she'd never seen anything quite like it before or.

Frozen to the spot, Nayta could do nothing more than watch as the guy slinked his way over to the ash blonde, who was now carefully sliding the ring onto the ring finger of her left hand. As soon as the guy arrived next to her, she reached up, cupped his face with her hands and kissed him lovingly. It was at this point the dusty blonde started exploring the rest of the shop.

The other two watched her intensely as though what she was doing was somehow highly fascinating for them. After a few moments the dusty blonde stopped and pointed towards something on one of the top shelves. The guy's waxy smile twitched wider for a moment, as he led the ash blonde towards the other girl. She then wrapped her arms around the waist of the dusty blonde and waited as the guy retrieved a circular shaped box from the shelf. His visible eye then moved towards the dusty blonde, who simply nodded before all three vanished without a trace.

The second they'd disappeared, Nayta's body was released from whatever holding grip had been controlling it. A shudder moved up and down her spine as she realised not one of her visitors had made a single sound the entire time they'd been there. Combined with the waxy smiles they'd all been wearing, it made the whole situation uncomfortably creepy. Carefully she made her way across the shop towards the door; it was locked. So the bell had been rung purely to get her attention; for some reason Nayta found herself even more uncomfortable with that thought. They clearly could have just taken control of her body whenever they wanted so why alert her to their presence first. What did they have to gain from doing that?

'Creepy,' Nayta shuddered again, 'they were just... so... creepy.'

* * *

He began to hum the notes of a fragmented melody as he went over the details of his plan once more. It wasn't going to be easy to pull off, one false move and everyone would know what he was up to before he was ready. But if he got it _just_ right then...

'Stop this... please... I beg you...' even though the voice was screaming at him, it barely registered as noise, 'this isn't right... please... you must know this isn't right...'

The words made him laugh; as if he could stop now? Didn't they know how close he was to getting everything he ever wanted? Power. Respect. Control. Didn't they get how important those things were? Of course they didn't. Everything had always been so easy for them. They'd always had everything, whereas he'd always had nothing.

Well not anymore. Now it was his turn to shine and he would shine, like the brightest star in the heavens. And then... then everyone would bow down to him.

* * *

The clock beside Tristan's bed began to buzz loudly. He lashed out at it until it stopped then, groaning loudly, he opened his eyes. He felt as though he'd been awake all night, which he knew for a fact wasn't true. Or at least he didn't think it was true. Yawning, Tristan stretched and pulled himself up into a sitting position. Once he had his eyes scanned the room he was in, everything look familiar and even the muted glow of the face of his digital alarm clock made sense to him.

Tristan stretched again as he pulled himself out of bed and threw on the first assortment of clean clothes he could find. Once dressed he found himself almost bouncing his way down to the kitchen.

'Well you're in a good mood,' Kaiba half glared at him as he watched Tristan swiped a piece of toast off of his plate.

'Ask me what the time is and you'll find out why,' he grinned as he bit into his stolen breakfast. 'So where'd you hide my keys this time?'

'Do you still not remember the conversation we had?'

'I remember not remembering the conversation we had,' he smirked, 'come on Seto, I want to enjoy having a head full of memories for once and I can't think of a better way to celebrate than going for a drive.'

'Your memory lapses are still too unpredictable,' Kaiba folded his arms as a serious expression pulled its way across his face, 'and we agreed until we got a better grip on whatever it is that's wrong with you, you weren't going to ride anymore.'

'The problem with making a deal like that with someone who has memory lapses Seto, is that they're not always going to remember the deal,' Tristan rolled his eyes, 'and when I don't remember that I've agreed to your ridicules no bike rule it just pisses me off. In fact even when I do remember it, it pisses me off. You're so damn controlling.'

'It's for your own good.'

'Like having me committed was for my own good?' Tristan was starting to get angry now.

'Are you saying it wasn't?'

'I'm saying this whole damn relationship between us seems to be about how much you can control my life. Why don't you just go ahead and buy a collar and leash for me, or better yet a cage, then you could really have me locked up.'

'Tristan...'

'I'm going for a walk,' Tristan made his way towards the kitchen door, but as he did Kaiba grabbed hold of his arm.

'Where are you planning to go?'

'That's none of your damn business.'

'Tristan we agreed, I need to have some idea where you are just in case...'

'I'm not your damn prisoner,' Tristan snatched his arm back, 'and I'm not some stupid little kid in need of protecting from the big bad world either. You have to let me live my own life.'

'I'm not trying to stop you...'

'Then why does it feel that way?' Tristan made a noise of anger as he ran his fingers back though his hair. 'Seto I need you to trust me and I need to feel like you trust me. Right now I don't think either is true.'

Kaiba averted his gaze, but said nothing.

'You don't get it, do you? You're the only thing... no matter how much I've forgotten you're the only thing I always have some memory of. I need to be able to trust you, but how can I when I know you don't trust me? But why should that surprise me, it's not as though you actually give a damn about me to begin with.'

'That's not true,' Kaiba gritted his teeth.

'Isn't it? Last I checked controlling the people you care about this much is _not_ a good thing. Either you need to learn to loosen the reigns just a little bit Seto, or I'm going to have to re-evaluate what the hell it is that keeps me here. Because right now...' Tristan turned his head away so Kaiba couldn't see the tears brimming in his eyes, 'right now I'm not sure...' he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

'Tristan...'

'I'm going for a walk and if you have even a miniscule of respect for me you won't ask me where I'm going.'

'Okay.'

'I wish you got it; why don't you get it?' Tristan's voice was little more than a pained whisper.

'Get what?'

'It doesn't matter,' Tristan continued towards the door, 'I'll see you later Seto.'

* * *

Téa nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw him grinning in at her through her bedroom window. Walking quickly over to open it, she watched as he climbed in off the ladder he'd been stood on.

'Way to make an entrance, huh?' He laughed as he lay breathlessly on her floor.

'Tristan,' Téa wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation, 'what on earth are you doing here?'

'Well Yugi wasn't at his place, so I figured he must be here. But I guess I got that wrong too,' he frowned as he glanced around the room. 'Still, it's been ages since the two of us just hung out together. Why is that?'

'I don't know, probably because you can't seem to stand me half the time,' Téa cocked an eyebrow at him.

Tristan frowned at her for a moment, then shook his head.

'I guess sometimes you can be a little annoying,' Tristan shrugged, 'but you're the one who's always preaching on about the importance of friendship, so why don't we give it another shot?'

'I guess things have been a little better between us lately,' Téa allowed herself to relax a little, 'I mean, I know none of us have actually seen you, but we've managed a few pretty decent phone conversations the last few weeks so I was kind of hoping we were back on track.'

'Maybe,' there was a weird expression on his face, 'but anything could happen, right? Things change all the time and quickly, so what might be true today may not be true tomorrow.'

'Is that your way of telling me you're okay with me today but tomorrow might be a different story?' Téa laughed.

'Who knows,' he shrugged again.

'Well I may not be totally sure what to make of the new Tristan, but I certainly like the bits of the old Tristan I see shining through.'

Her words made the expression on Tristan's face tense and he began pulling at the bottom of his sleeves. Instantly she regretted her own words and tried to find a way of turning the conversation back round without digger herself into a hole.

'So are you up to anything tomorrow?'

'Not that I can think of,' he averted his gaze and continued pulling at the base of his sleeves. 'Didn't you say something about Serenity staying with you the last time we spoke? When's she supposed to be getting here?'

'What do you mean getting here?' Téa cocked an eyebrow at him. 'I saw her off on the train just over an hour ago.

'Great,' he rolled his eyes, 'another thing I got to miss out on.'

'What do you mean miss out on?' Téa felt confused.

'I was hoping to get the chance to catch up with her, I'm sure you guys have told her all kinds of crazy stories about me and I wanted to make sure she heard the truth,' he sighed. 'I'm not saying you guys would flat out lie about it or anything, it's just... well I did used to have a crush on her and I just wanted her to know nothing I've been through is her fault. She's a sensitive kid, you know.'

'I know, but I don't think she thinks she has anything to do with what you've been through anyway and at least you got to see her before she left.'

'I what...?' Tristan stared at her as though she'd suddenly started speaking a different language.

'I said at least you got to see her before she left, even if it was only briefly.'

'But I don't...' his head shivered from side to side. 'When?'

'Two days ago,' Téa found herself staring at him, 'don't you remember?'


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The sound of music drifted through the corridors towards him. Intrigued, Joey followed the sound to it source, eventually ended up outside one of the palace's smaller reception halls. He could feel the beat pulsate through him as he stood outside trying to figure out why the music sounded so familiar and yet so vague at the same time. Eventually he realised what it was; the music was clear but the lyrics were not; he wasn't even sure if the vocal track was present. Now more than curious, he opened the doors to find out what was going on. The ash blonde he'd first encountered two days before was stood on the table, dancing like a wild child to the lyricless music. He found himself glancing round, looking for some kind of CD player or stereo, but there was nothing. The music was as sourceless as it was lyricless.

Joey's eyes returned to her. Every movement she made was free spirited, but graceful. It made her radiate an almost tangible kind of energy, as if music and dancing were all she needed to live on. But no matter how quickly she moved or how much she swung her body round, the curtain of hair over the left hand side of her face remained perfectly in place. In the time he'd just stood there studying her, two different tracks had played. He recognised both of them, even without their lyrics, and after the second one rolled into a third her visible eye flicked towards him. A strange smile slid across her face as she reached a hand out to him and silently beckoned him to join her.

He gave an embarrassed laugh and scratched the back of his head, averting his gaze as he did. Within seconds she'd graceful lowered herself down from the table and walked towards him. She then grabbed hold of Joey's hands and led him towards the centre of the room.

'I don't dance,' even he had to admit his own voice sounded strange.

She tilted her head to one side as the music changed tracks yet again, this time into a slow romantic sounding ballad. She then manoeuvred Joey's body into a ballroom style dance position, before leading him into a slow dance.

'I don't dance,' Joey could feel his cheeks flaming red, 'and even if I did, I really don't think I should be dancing with you. I have a…'

She placed her fingers over his lips in order to quieten him. There was something about the way she did it which made Joey feel the need to start leading. He'd never danced like this before in his life, but somehow with her in his arms it felt effortless and easy. As they glided around the room, he felt himself become more and more enthralled by the mysterious ash blonde. She was beautiful and flawless and every inch of her seemed to be filled with this all consuming grace and energy.

Just as he found himself about to lean in and kiss her, the music cut and the girl vanished without a trace. Before he had time to gasp in alarm, the door to the room opened and Covo poked his head round.

'What's going on in here?' Covo cocked an eyebrow at him. 'Only I swear I just heard music playing.'

'I err…' Joey felt strangely caught out, 'I don't know what you're talking about.'

'Oh come on Veronie, that music could be heard throughout the entire Southern Palace, easily. In fact that's why I'm here, Ahna wants to know if you can turn it down, Crovell's taking a nap.'

'Well there's no music playing now,' he shrugged and half turned away from him.

'Yeah,' Covo sounded strange, 'I had noticed.'

'Well then I guess there's no problem, is there?'

'I guess,' he frowned. 'Are you okay? Only you seem to be acting a little… odd.'

'I'm fine.'

'You sure?'

'I said so, didn't I?'

'Yeah, I guess,' Covo didn't sound convinced, 'but you know there's really no need to be quite so touchy about it,' he turned. 'Later Veronie.'

Covo left, leaving Joey to stare after him. As he did his whole body erupted with guilt. He knew he hadn't cheated on Mai, but he'd come really close. And the way he'd felt whilst he was dancing with the girl... Swallowing hard, he tried to shake the thoughts from his head.

'Oh god, I'm sorry Mai,' his voice was a trembling whisper, 'I'm so sorry.'

* * *

'Of... of course I remember,' he gave a nervous laugh, 'who forgets something which happened two days ago?'

'The same person who was acting as though she hadn't even arrived in town yet,' Téa cocked an eyebrow at him.

'I guess it just slipped my mind,' he began tugging at the bottom of his sleeves again. 'I've not been getting a whole lot of sleep recently and that can affect a person's memory.'

'Yeah...' she found herself staring at him, 'you're right, it can, but... are you sure that's all it is?'

Almost as soon as she asked the question, he let go of the base of his sleeves as though he knew it was some kind of tell or something. He then averted his gaze as his facial expression became the familiar dark and moody one she was now so used to seeing him wear.

'Is there something going on you want to talk about Tristan?' Téa edged towards him. 'I mean... if you want to talk I'll listen.'

'There's nothing I want to talk about.'

'Are you sure? You look like something's bothering you. Does it have something to do with Kaiba?'

'Why would you even ask that?' Tristan glared at her.

'Why wouldn't I, considering the fact he keeps stopping you from seeing your friends.'

'He's not stopping me from seeing you guys.'

'Then why is he always the one cancelling our plans?' Téa held her ground. 'He's clearly trying to control you and that's not healthy, not in any kind of relationship.'

'He's not trying to control me,' Tristan hands balled into fists, 'he's just trying to...' he cut himself off.

'Trying to what?'

'It doesn't matter,' he turned his head away.

'It does matter Tristan, I'm worried about you. We all are. This whole you and Kaiba thing is just so...'

'Shut up,' Tristan's voice was deadpan as he pulled himself to his feet. 'I didn't come here to listen to you bitch about Seto. If you say one more bad word about him...'

'Alright, alright,' she held her hands up defensively, 'I get it, you care about him. I'm just worried that doesn't go both ways. Or at least not in the way you want it too.'

'I thought I told you to shut up about it Téa.'

'Alright, I won't say anything else,' she sighed. 'So you really don't have any plans for tomorrow then?'

'Not that I know of, why are you guys doing something?'

'No, but I would have thought you would be,' Téa smirked, 'it is a big day and everything.'

'A big day?' Tristan frowned at her.

'Don't tell me you're so tired you've forgotten what tomorrow is,' Téa laughed.

'Of... of course I haven't forgotten what tomorrow is,' Tristan began playing with the bottom of his sleeves again.

'So then why don't you have any plans?'

'Do I really need them?'

'Well that depends on whether or not you think a milestone is worth celebrating,' Téa found herself feeling a more than a little confused by his reaction. 'I think it is.'

'Well then you celebrate,' he turned towards the window.

'Tristan are you okay?' She took a step towards him. 'You're acting a little weird. You do know what I'm talking about, don't you?'

'Does it really matter?' There was more than a note of agitation in his voice.

'Yeah, it kind of does; Tristan...'

'Why do you have to be so persistent about everything Téa,' he cut her off, 'you know this is exactly the reason why I get so pissed off with you all the time. I don't know how it could have slipped my mind.'

'Tristan...?'

'I think I've had about all I can take from you today, I'm going home.'

'Fine,' Téa rolled her eyes, 'clearly things aren't improving between us as much as I hoped.'

Tristan made no attempt at a reply; he made no attempt at moving either.

'I thought you were going home.' Téa folded her arms.

'I am,' he remained where he was.

'You don't seem to be moving very fast and here I thought you couldn't wait to get away from me.'

Again there was no reply and no movement from him. For a long time there was silence and something told Téa there was more going on here.

'Tristan,' she took a step towards him, 'is there something stopping you from going home? Are you afraid of something?'

'I thought I told you to shut up about things like that,' his voice was strangely mute, 'Seto isn't the problem here.'

'Then what is?'

'I...' he closed his eyes and lowered his head in humiliation, 'I don't remember how to get home.'


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Kaiba was just making his way back towards his study when Tristan arrived home, accompanied by Téa. Instantly Tristan averted his gaze and from the way he was pulling at his shirt sleeves it didn't take a genius to work out something was wrong. Without saying a word he made his way towards the stairs and up towards his room. Kaiba gave a heavy sigh at the sound of a door being slammed shut; he'd just spent the last half hour dealing with Mokuba, he wasn't sure he had the energy for this.

'What's wrong with him?' Téa's voice was mute.

'Go home Téa.'

'No,' her tone was firm, 'you can't order me around Kaiba. I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong with my friend.'

'There's nothing wrong with him,' Kaiba half glared at her. 'Now go home.'

'Oh I'm sorry, in what universe is it normal for people to forget their way home?' Téa folded her arms. 'But then again why am I talking to you about normality? _You_ think it's normal to control the life of your so called friend. The way you treat Tristan has got to be borderline abuse.'

'How dare you accuse me of something like that,' Kaiba gritted his teeth, 'you have no idea about anything and I want you to leave my house _now_.'

'So you can go back to selfishly keeping Tristan from the rest of us and pretending there's not something wrong with him when there so obviously is?'

'Get out of my house Téa.'

'Not till...'

The rest of her sentence was cut off by the shrill sound of screaming. Instantly Kaiba felt every last ounce of energy he had left drain from him.

'What the hell is going on here Kaiba?' Téa stared at him as the screams died away.

'Go home Téa,' even Kaiba could hear the exhaustion in his own voice.

'But…?'

'Just go home.'

'No,' she shook her head, 'no I can't do that. Maybe I don't have the first clue what's going on here, but... I can tell you need help.'

'I don't need anybody's help,' Kaiba snapped at her, 'I'm responsible so it's my burden to bear.'

'And just what's that supposed to mean?'

'It means get out before I have you thrown out.'

For a few long moments the two of them held each other's gazes, then Téa rolled her eyes and made her way towards the front door.

'Don't think this is over Kaiba, I will find out what's going on here,' she flicked him one final look as she crossed the threshold and closed the door.

Once she had gone, Kaiba gave another heavy sigh and made his way back upstairs. He headed towards his brother's room and pushed the door open to see Tristan wincing in pain as he attempted to comfort a hysterical Mokuba. Everything in Kaiba just wanted to run away and hide, but he knew he couldn't do that because both of them needed him. It was his fault they were like this: he was being punished for the way he'd treated them both.

'Seto,' Tristan's voice was dull, 'what's so important about tomorrow?'

Kaiba went to answer him, then hesitated. It was hard to judge what his reaction to the answer would be and he didn't want to risk upsetting him, not now. Instead he just listened to the sound of Mokuba's sobs die away to whimpers.

'It must be something pretty important if you're not willing to tell me,' Tristan lowered his gaze.

'You shouldn't worry so much about it,' Kaiba's voice sounded as dry as it felt, 'you'll probably wake up tomorrow knowing exactly what it is anyway so why get all worked up about it now.'

'And if I don't remember tomorrow, what then?'

'Then we'll deal with it.'

'Just like that, huh?' Tristan gave a muted laugh. 'You know it was easier being suicidal.'

'Don't,' Kaiba glared at him, 'don't you ever say that.'

'Why not when it's the truth?'

'Because I...' Kaiba cut himself off. 'Because I didn't waste all that time and money on getting you well again for you to go right back to square one over something so stupid.'

'Stupid? You think my memory loss is stupid?'

'I didn't mean...'

'No I think you did,' Tristan cut him off. 'And I think maybe you actually like the fact I'm like this, because when I have no memory I'm easy to control and I don't object to being locked up in this house like your damn prisoner.'

'Tristan...'

'Why can't you just give me a reason to stay Seto?' Tristan's face filled with a strangely desperate look. 'I'm running out of reasons to stay.'

* * *

'You were robbed?' Mai stared at her. 'When?'

'Last night,' Nayta sighed, 'that's why I've closed the shop for the day.'

'Have you reported it? What was taken?'

'Of course I reported it,' she gave a half laugh, 'not that they took much. Just an engagement ring and a box of Elemental Stones, if you can believe that.'

'Were they valuable at all?'

'Well the ring was definitely one of the pricier ones, but the Elemental Stones were just your standard basic household items. I guess the case they were in set them apart a little, but even then...'

'Well I guess you should be grateful for small mercies, but it's still awful.'

'No, what's really awful was just how creepy they were,' she shuddered, 'there was something... not human about them.'

'But I thought everything classed as human,' Mai frowned, 'even the gods or am I totally misunderstanding the Etean translation here?'

'No, you're right, everything classes as human provided it has all four of the human element. There are a few breeds which have their _humanity_ frequently debated because no one's sure whether or not they should be classed as human because they kind of do and kind of don't have all four elements. _And_ there's also one breed which everyone agrees isn't human, the Unrealm.'

'Unrealm?'

'Unreal beings created by humans. Because of how they're created they don't have souls, therefore they're not classed as being human.'

'I see.'

'But anyway enough about all that, I want to know how my favourite customer is doing.'

'I'd be doing better if I had the energy to get out of bed,' Mai stretched and yawned at the same time.

'Yeah, sorry about that, I didn't expect you to still be in bed this time of the morning. I mean, I know I'm an early riser, but...'

'Don't worry about it, I didn't get out of bed at all yesterday,' she yawned again, 'I've just been so tired recently.'

'Is that normal?' Nayta frowned. 'I mean, I know pregnant women are often tired, but...'

'I'm not sure. The only woman I know who's been pregnant recently is Ahna and I don't feel comfortable talking to her about it.'

'Still a little jealous, huh?'

'I hate myself for it, but it's hard not to be,' she sighed. 'Feeling this tired doesn't really help either.'

'Maybe you should try a little meditation. I've been suffering from insomnia recently myself and I've found meditation has really helped to make me feel rested, even if I'm not necessarily getting anymore sleep.'

'I guess there's no harm in trying it; right now I'd give anything not to feel so exhausted all the time.'

'So apart from the exhaustion how have you been?'

'Pretty good,' Mai's face filled with a weak and tired smile.

'Still refusing your mate's request for marriage?'

'Yeah, he doesn't like that much.'

'I wouldn't have thought he would.'

'Still I have my reasons,' she yawned again, 'and he knows that.'

'You really are tired, aren't you?' Nayta studied her for a moment. 'Tell you what, I'll pop back to my shop and grab some of my meditation stuff and give you an introductory course now, if you like.'

'Sounds good to me,' Mai suppressed yet another yawn, 'if I'm going to try this, I might as well try it now.'


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

It had taken Duke a while to settle on a suitable second half to their date. In the end he'd chosen a trip to the cinema, allowing her to choose the film so he wouldn't be accused of patronising her or taking her to something _too adult_ for her child-like mind to handle. They'd munched their way through most of their snacks before the trailers had even started, which seemed to help both of them relax a little. Apprehensively he placed an arm around her shoulder, not sure whether or not this would be too much too soon for her. She giggled a little and half curled herself into him. He found himself relaxing as he repeatedly reminded himself she might have been child-like, but she wasn't a child and he needed to stop worrying so much.

They were about halfway through the film when he sensed a pair of eyes watching him. Glancing about edgily he spotted a figure stood in the gangway. It was too dark to make out anything about them, but their mere presence made Duke squirm more than a little. What made it worse was the fact he was certain they were the one staring at him. Focussing his attention back on the screen he tried to ignore it, but the feeling of the unseen eyes watching his every move completely unnerved him. For nearly five whole minutes, his attention became divided between the action on the screen and the shadowy figure in the gangway. Then to his great surprise, on what must have been his twentieth glance away from the screen, the figure vanished.

A cold shudder ran up his spine; the only thing creepier than some weirdo staring at you was when that weirdo completely disappeared. He tried to forget about them and refocus his attention on the film, but it was impossible. He felt as though his privacy had been violated and nothing could convince him it hadn't.

* * *

'You know this could become a problem.'

'What could?' Catilin yawned as her eyes fluttered open.

'You falling asleep on me every time we go out.'

'Oh no, I didn't, did I?' Her body jerked into a sitting position. 'I'm so, so, so sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep on you, honest. It was just so nice and cosy snuggling into you and I've been so, so tired lately I...'

'It's okay,' Duke laughed lightly as he cut her off, 'I don't mind, you're cute when you're sleeping.'

His words made Catilin grin.

'What?'

'You think I'm cute?' Catilin giggled.

'I believe I said I think you're cute when you're sleeping,' Duke smirked at her, 'that doesn't mean I think you're cute when you're awake.'

'But you do think it,' she pulled herself up proudly, 'I know you do, you think I'm cute.'

'I think I might start regretting asking you out.'

'You wouldn't,' her face fell.

'You're right, I wouldn't,' he laughed again, 'so what do you want to do now?'

'You mean the date isn't over yet?' Catilin blinked at him.

'Only if you want it to be,' he shrugged, 'but the way I see it there's still plenty of day time left and... I'd like to spend at least a little more of it with you.'

* * *

'So what do you think?'

'What do I think of what?' Yugi frowned at her.

'Weren't you listening to a word I just said?'

'Sorry,' he shrugged, 'I guess I was a little distracted.'

'You've been a little distracted a lot lately,' Téa folded her arms, 'if I didn't know better I'd say it was your way of telling me you were bored of my company or something.'

'This isn't about to be followed by some long winded friendship speech, is it?'

Téa wasn't sure if she should feel offended by his comment or not. Instead she just rolled her eyes and shot him a displeased look.

'So what were we talking about again?'

'Tristan and his little visit to me today,' Téa sighed. 'You know, the one which ended with me having to take him home because he couldn't remember how to get there.'

'Didn't you also say something about him looking really tired and admitting he's not been sleeping much or something,' Yugi shrugged. 'A lack of sleep can have a serious impact of a person's memory you know.'

'Yeah and so can being in an abusive relationship,' Téa made a noise of disgust.

'You can't go around saying things like that Téa,' Yugi's expression was strangely unreadable considering the condemning tone of his voice. 'You don't have any proof for a start and for a second didn't you say something about Kaiba looking just as exhausted as Tristan did.'

'I also mentioned screaming; don't forget the screaming,' Téa pulled a face. 'Something weird is going on with them and as Tristan's friends we have a duty to find out what.'

'In other words you want to see just how far you can push what little threads of friendship you still have with Tristan before he completely cuts the chord on you,' Yugi cocked an eyebrow.

'Yes, because he's our friend and he's in trouble.'

'You don't know that.'

'I do,' she stuck her chin out slightly, 'and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get him back.'

'Get him back?' Yugi appeared to study her for a moment.

'I mean help him out,' Téa averted her gaze, marginally unnerved by her own choice of words.

'It might have been what you meant, but it's not what you said,' he continued to stare at her. 'You're still holding out hope for a shot of getting the _old_ Tristan back, aren't you?'

'I...' she hesitated, 'the old Tristan is still in there somewhere,' she gave a heavy sigh. 'How can I just accept this _new_ him is all we have left, when I don't believe it's true?'

'Just because the _new_ Tristan still has some similarity to the _old_ Tristan doesn't mean you can reverse time,' Yugi rolled his eyes. 'Tristan has been through _way_ too much to just go back to being the friend we used to know. The sooner you accept that the sooner this damn friction between the two of you will pass. I mean, seriously, your inability to accept we're all changing is really starting to piss me off.'

'Yugi!'

'I'm sorry Téa, but it's just how I feel and I'm not the only one,' there was something strangely callous about the way Yugi was speaking. 'The rest of us might not completely get this _new_ Tristan, but with you around nobody else is getting the chance to find out anything about him. Well nobody but Mokuba and Kaiba that is, who you're automatically condemning as bad influences... No wait, abusive, I believe you said Kaiba specifically was being abusive. I hate to say it Téa, but right now the only bad guy I see in this situation is you.'

'I... uh...' Téa just found herself staring at him, once again unsure as to how she should feel.

'You know what, I think you owe Kaiba and Tristan an apology,' Yugi's expression was as serious as his voice.

'I'm sorry, what?' Téa blinked.

'I said I think you owe them both an apology. Tomorrow. We'll go round first thing in the morning.'

'Err... okay,' Téa found herself frowning, 'but can't I just apologise over the phone?'

'That depends on whether or not you accused Kaiba of being abusive to his face,' he smirked slightly, 'because if you did then an over the phone apology really isn't going to cut it. Besides, we wanted to try and do something with Tristan tomorrow anyway, didn't we?'

'Err... yeah, I guess.'

'So it's settled then. Tomorrow we go to the Kaiba mansion.'

* * *

He was already finding it hard enough to sleep, so when music drifted in through his open window Kaiba felt himself groaning in disgust. He got up in order to shut out the noise, but when he got there he found himself hesitating. The music was too loud to be coming from one of the neighbouring houses. Curiously he went out onto his small balcony and stared down at the garden below. The three trespassers were stood in the middle of his lawn dancing for all they were worth. And if that wasn't enough to make his blood boil, the fact one of the three was the brown haired youth was.

Gritting his teeth, he stormed out of the room, through the house and out into the garden. The trio ignored his approach, continuing in their overly zealous dancing as if nothing else in the world matter. All that did was further fan the flames of anger he was feeling.

'Who the hell are you and what the hell do you think you're doing in my garden?' Kaiba came to a stop a few feet away from them.

His words caused the youth to stop dancing and turn towards him. The smile plastered across the visible half of his face was as creepy as a waxwork figure and he made no attempt at a reply.

'I asked you a question,' Kaiba glared at him, 'answer me.'

Still the youth remained silent. The taller of the two blonde girls he was with caught hold of his hand and tried to pull him back into the dancing, but the youth simply shook his head at her and continued to focus his gaze on Kaiba.

'Are you deaf or just stupid?' Kaiba balled his hands into fists. 'I want to know what the hell you think you're doing here and I want to know now.'

The youth took a step towards him. A strange spike of fear moved through Kaiba's stomach as he vividly remembered his last encounter with the youth.

'Don't you even think about pulling a stunt like that again,' he took half a step back, 'I swear I'll hurt you if you do.'

The youth ignored his words and continued moving towards him. When he was within striking distance, Kaiba swiped at him. Unfortunately the youth was able to catch hold of his fist with ease and prevent his attack from landing any kind of damaging blow. The youth's visible brown eye then filled with a confused and hurt little boy look.

'Get off me,' Kaiba snatched his hand back.

This only increased the look of hurt in the youth's wax-like expression. As he stood there staring at Kaiba, the shorter of the two blondes came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her singular visible eye made a close and sweeping examination of Kaiba. There was something about the way she did so which felt strangely analytical, as if she understood a lot more than she would ever let on. After a few moments she grabbed hold of the youth's arm and encouraged him to follow her back towards the other girl. He reluctantly followed, but his singular visible eye remained focused on Kaiba as though he just couldn't bear to look at anything else.

Once the trio had reunited all three of them vanished without a trace, taking their loud, obnoxious music with them. After making sure they were really gone, Kaiba gritted his teeth and returned to the house. As he headed towards the stairs, he thought he saw the youth again, but in the blink of an eye he was gone. Making it back to his room, he crashed down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He wasn't sure if he felt angry or freaked out at the thought of being stalked by three complete and utter freaks. What he did know was that this was just about the last thing he needed right now. Did the multiverse not think he had enough to deal with as it was? Did it really need to throw one more thing his way?

Sighing heavily, he rolled onto his side and stared vacantly at the wall ahead of him. Within seconds a loud scream cut through the momentary stillness of the house and he knew without a doubt it was going to be another long night.

* * *

Joey brushed some of the hair back from Mai's forehead as he watched her sleep. Even like this, with her hair tussled and her face devoid of any kind of makeup, she was beautiful. Every inch of his being knew he loved her and he couldn't imagine himself being with anybody else. So then why couldn't he get the strange blonde girl out of his head?

He lowered himself onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. In his mind he went over his encounter with the ash blonde, right up to the moment he almost kissed her and she disappeared. He knew he should be feeling guilty over the memory, even though nothing had actually happened, apart from the dancing, but still... He half closed his eyes as he remembered the way the girl had smelt, the self assured but gentle nature of her touch, her easy grace and mysterious beauty. Somehow his memory of her made her even more enchanting than she already was.

A deep feeling of infatuation made its way through his body. He wanted to see her again. No, he needed to see her again. To talk to her. To find out her name. To find out where she'd come from and why he just couldn't get her out of his head. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to make her his. The thought came with no guilt attached and with no concern for anyone else's feelings but his own.

For the first time since Mai had become pregnant, Joey got up out of bed and made his way back towards his own chamber. He couldn't sleep next to her, not when he knew the ash blonde was going to fill his dreams. Her presence beside him would have just ruined the fantasy. And he needed the fantasy, because who knew when he'd get to see his mysterious blonde girl again.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

He couldn't have been in the shower for more than ten minutes, but when he came back there was a small, flat box waiting for him on his bed. For a few long moments he just found himself staring at it in confusion, before cautiously making his way towards the bed. He picked the box up and examined it; although all that really did was confirm both lid and base were a matted black and that the lid would just slid off when he pulled it.

Curious now, he opened the box to reveal a key strung up like a pendent on a chain. Frowning he lifted it out and spotted a neatly folded piece of paper lining the bottom of the box. He placed the box down in order to lift the paper out and open it to reveal a note.

'Because I know I can't keep you locked up forever...'

For a few seconds he felt confused, then he remembered his last couple of arguments with Kaiba and laughed.

'You've sure got a warped sense of humour Seto,' he smirked as he placed the chain around his neck.

'That's strange, because I wasn't trying to be funny.'

The sound of his voice made Tristan jump. Instantly he whirled round to see Kaiba leant against the doorframe watching him.

'Doors are there for a reason you know,' he felt his face flame red as he did his best to press his exposed arms against his chest, 'I've just had a shower, I could have been completely naked for all you knew.'

'Whatever,' he rolled his eyes and averted his gaze, 'it's not as though you've got anything I haven't seen before.'

'That's not the point,' Tristan grabbed the nearest clean top, not caring whether or not it matched the trousers he already had on. 'Just because I have memory problems doesn't mean you don't have to respect my privacy.'

Kaiba looked as though he was about to say something, then hesitated and shrugged.

'So if you weren't trying to be funny, then what's all this about?' Tristan pulled at the key now hung around his neck.

'You were the one who wanted some sign that I trusted you,' Kaiba kept his gaze averted, 'and since you're so insistent on getting yourself lost on a high speed vehicle I figured you should do it on the best.'

'Wait, what?'

'I... I got you a new bike,' there was something very careful about the way Kaiba worded the sentence, as though he was doubting his own decision.

'You're kidding, right?' Tristan laughed. 'Why...? I mean, not that I'm not grateful, but... If you wanted me to know I had your trust you could have just given me the keys to my old bike back.'

'I know,' his voice was mute, 'but this one has a GPS system installed into it, so if you do get lost...'

'I guess I should have expected that,' he rolled his eyes, 'but... thank you.'

'Whatever,' he rolled his eyes, 'just do me a favour and _don't_ get yourself killed.'

I promise nothing,' Tristan laughed as he excitedly darted past him and half jumped his way down the stairs.

Just as he reached the door a blue envelope on the hall table caught his attention. It was address to him. Cautiously he opened it and pulled out what was inside; a birthday card from his parents. A numb kind of shock filled his body as he dropped the card. He didn't know how to feel or what to think or... anything.

'This... this was what I'd forgotten?' Tristan forced his gaze towards Kaiba as he made his way down the stairs.

'After our conversation yesterday I wasn't sure whether I should hide the card or not,' Kaiba's voice was mute, 'sometimes it's hard to tell how upset you'll get about things like this. But I figured you'd resent me more if I didn't find some way of telling you.'

'And this was the method you went with?' Tristan wasn't sure if he was angry or not.

'I wanted to tell you just now, but...' Kaiba's expression was unreadable as his words trailed into nothing.

'You figured this would be the best way for me to find out,' Tristan shook his head. 'How the hell can you be the smartest person I know and a complete idiot at the same time?'

'Tristan...' Kaiba hesitantly reached a hand towards him, 'it's... it's okay, we both knew something like this would happen eventually, you've just got to calm down.'

'Stop telling me how to feel,' Tristan battered his hand away, before storming back in the direction of his room, 'just leave me alone.'

* * *

'Hey Ahna, have you seen Joey?'

'No, why?'

'He wasn't there when I woke up this morning.'

'Maybe he had some work to get on with, I wouldn't worry.'

'But he never leaves before I'm awake.'

'Look, he's probably in the garden, or something,' Ahna frowned, 'I wouldn't worry too much about it.'

'Yeah, maybe,' Mai chewed her lower lip nervously.

'Look Mai I'm sure he's fine,' Ahna forced a weak smile onto her face, 'I know trouble has a tendency to follow all of us around, _a lot_, but... things have been pretty calm lately.'

'Too calm,' Mai averted her gaze, 'and maybe that's the problem. Maybe I'm just waiting for something bad to happen and I'm jumping on every little thing because of it.'

'The lack of sleep probably doesn't help either,' she found herself studying Mai for a moment. 'You look exhausted.'

'I feel exhausted,' she sighed, 'I feel like I've been awake all night even though I know that's not true.'

'So Nayta's meditation technique didn't work then?'

'I guess not,' Mai yawned, 'but it was still worth a shot.'

'Da da da da da,' Crovell suddenly chirped. 'Da da da da da.'

'I can't believe he's already starting to speak,' Mai laughed, 'I mean, knowing what this little one's capable of I know it shouldn't surprise me, but... it feels like he's too little.'

'You're telling me,' Ahna felt a small swirl of pride move through her.

'I bet you anything he knows where his Daddy is too and this is his way of trying to tell us.'

'I wouldn't put it past him,' she glanced down at her child. 'Is that right, little one?' She cooed. 'Do you know where your da da is?'

'Da da da da da,' Crovell grinned madly, clearly loving the attention.

'Well, when you get a little better at this whole language thing, maybe you'd like to tell us.'

'Da da da da da.'

'I wonder if Jo will be just as cute when she's born,' Mai began wistfully stroking her stomach.

'Well we know she's getting her looks from you, so I don't see how she could be anything but,' Ahna smiled.

'You think?'

'I don't think, I know; the girl we met was in every way your daughter.'

'Hey Ahna, can I ask you a question?' Mai stared thoughtfully at her as she continued to rub her bump.

'Sure, what do you want to know?'

'Did pregnancy make you fell this fat?'

* * *

'You know SK, you present more of a challenge when you actually try to play,' Jay rolled his eyes. 'That's like three games in a row now, winning just isn't fun anymore.'

'I'm sorry, I guess I'm just a little distracted today,' SK's tongue skated across his lips.

'You've been a little distracted all week, is something bothering you?'

'I don't know,' he pulled a face, 'I'm still a little worried about the Wen.'

'The Wen aren't going to do anything,' there was an overly condescending tone in Jay's voice, 'they've admitted their defeat and have even started to come round to the idea of a new little brother... or uncle in the case of Ni.'

'Yeah, that's what worries me. Don't you think they've come round to the idea of his existence a little too easily considering just how badly they wanted him dead?' SK licked his lips again. 'I'm worried they're up to something.'

'Well as long as they don't try to distract us with alcohol again, I'm sure it'll be fine.'

'Jay I'm being serious here.'

'So am I,' Jay pulled a face. 'Look, the Wen missed out on their opportunity, they know that and even if they are planning something it wouldn't be anything new and it will probably boil down to nothing. The Wen are like that, it's why the Mistresses could never fully relinquish their control to them.'

'Because all their plans are half baked?' SK cocked an eyebrow at him.

'Exactly,' Jay grinned, 'they're too indecisive and irrational to ever really pull anything off. Although, in all honesty, if they are planning something I would welcome it at this point. I'm so frigging bored I could actually get enjoyment out of watching paint dry. I want... no I _need_ something to happen.'

'That sounds like you might be planning something yourself,' SK licked his lips again as he playfully narrowed his gaze, 'when the time comes remind me to put you at the top of my suspects list.'

'Number one suspect already hey, I am doing well.'

'I'd love to say it was your sinister looks, but it's the fact you act like a child despite the fact you're forty which really tips me off.'

'Forty?' Jay gawked at him. 'I'll have you know I'm only just thirty-eight. And besides I'm a kid in spirit, literally. I can't grow up and start acting my age because these damn teenage hormones of mine just won't let me. So you might as well stick a feather in my cap and call me Peter Pan.'

'You know something Jay; sometimes your jokes just don't make any sense.'

'You know something SK; your jokes never make any sense.'

'Of all the people to be stuck in the afterlife with,' SK smirked as his tongue glanced over his lips.

'Aw come on, I'm not that bad, am I?'

'No, you're right; normally you're a lot worse.'

'Why thank you,' Jay made an overly theatrical bow. 'So do you want another game?'

'Sure, I guess, it's not like there's much else going on at the moment.'

'Great,' Jay started setting up the board, 'just promise me one thing this time SK.'

'What?'

'You'll actually concentrate on the game; I'm getting really sick of winning all the time. And you know how much I love winning, so that's saying a _lot_.'


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The loud, repetitive sound of a ball bouncing off of the wall was audible even before Kaiba made it to the landing. Sighing heavily, he made his way towards Tristan's room and entered without knocking.

'Don't you think you're overreacting a little?'

'Don't you think it's time you actually started listening to what I tell you,' Tristan continued relentlessly throwing the ball, 'or are the words _leave me alone_ secretly code for, please ignore everything I've told you this morning, especially the parts about knocking and not telling me how to feel.'

'Don't you think you're being a little bit childish here?'

'If you're about to suggest I've lost more of my memory than I've realised...'

'You haven't,' Kaiba cut him off, 'you still sound like yourself. At least you do if you ignore the fact you're acting like a complete and utter brat right now; for god sake it's just a birthday.'

'Oh and they're completely meaningless, aren't they? About as important to you as having friends,' Tristan gritted his teeth. 'Well forgive me for finding it a little hard to get onboard with that idea, but I actually have human emotions.'

'And you're saying I don't,' Kaiba was starting to feel more than a little annoyed at him now. 'You think I enjoy this situation anymore than you do? My little brother is a danger to himself and others, my best friend can't remember who he is half the time, and I can't even remember the last time I got a full night's sleep; do you really think that doesn't get to me?'

Tristan stopped throwing the ball and instead gripped it hard between his hands. His jaw line became noticeable firmer as his gaze focused intensely on a spot on the ground just in front of him.

'I'm not...' Kaiba hesitated for a moment, 'I'm not trying to tell you how to feel here Tristan, but there are worst things you can forget than your own birthday. Getting frustrated and upset about it like this is only going to make things worse and you know it. You need to calm down and get a little perspective.'

'Just like that, huh?' Tristan glanced towards him. 'I'm just supposed to pick myself up and move on with my day because you're insisting there are worse things I can forget than my birthday. Like how old I'm supposed to be for example, because I don't know that right now either. In fact there are a lot of things I don't think I know right now and yet the one fact I just can't seem to forget is you. Even when I can't remember your name or anything about you, I still remember you.'

'You say that like you want to forget me,' Kaiba's voice was low and mute.

Tristan took a strangely jagged breath in but said nothing. For a few long moments there was a strained and heavy kind of silence between them. Kaiba took a few steps towards him, then stopped as an awkward feeling moved through his stomach.

'Seto, I...' Tristan cut himself off.

'What?' Kaiba frowned at him.

'It doesn't matter.'

'I wish you wouldn't keep doing that,' Kaiba gritted his teeth, 'if you have something you want to say to me I wish you would just say it already. Telling me it doesn't matter is basically you saying I won't understand. Well try me.'

Tristan stared at him for a few long moments, before shaking his head and turning his gaze away.

'I can't.'

'I'll find a way to fix it,' Kaiba's voice was so low he wasn't even sure he'd spoken.

'What?' Tristan blinked at him.

'I said I'll find a way to fix it. To fix everything. You won't have to be like this forever Tristan, I promise. Just, please, stop moping round your bedroom,' Kaiba shifted his gaze away, 'you might not have remembered it was your birthday, but you know now; so you might as well at least pretend to be happy about it. I mean, what exactly are you going to gain by wallowing in your own misery anyway?'

* * *

'Hey Joey, what you doing?'

'What does it look like?'

'Can I help?'

'If you must,' his tone was curt and uninviting.

'Joey,' she frowned at him, 'are you alright?'

'I'm fine.'

'Are you sure, only you seem a little... off this morning.'

'Mai, I told you, I'm fine; now get off my case already.'

There was something about the way he was acting which felt as though she'd been slapped hard in the face. Kneeling down beside him, she found herself studying the serious contours of his features. She didn't care what he said, something was clearly bothering him.

'Joey,' she kept her voice light and cautious, 'why didn't you wait for me to wake up this morning?'

'Because I slept in my own bed.'

'What?' She laughed in surprise.

'I slept in my own bed,' he shrugged as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

'But why?'

'Because I felt like being on my own.'

Again it felt like another slap to her face. For a few moments she just found herself gawking at him, wondering why he was being so cold. It pained her further to know he hadn't even looked at her yet.

'Joey, you would tell me if you were mad at me, wouldn't you?'

He made no attempt to respond to her.

'Joey... have I done something to upset you?'

'Could you pass me the sheers Mai?' His tone was as dry as his voice.

She gave a heavy sigh before doing as she was told. She then found herself studying him, trying to figure out where this cold behaviour had come from, but his face revealed nothing.

'I'm going back inside,' she pulled herself back to her feet, 'I'll see you later Joey.'

* * *

Considering just how early in the morning Yugi had been on her doorstep, Téa was a little concerned over his complete silence on their walk over to the Kaiba mansion. There was something odd about the way he was acting. But then there'd been something odd about the way he'd been acting for a while now. Téa kept trying to bring it up with him, but something inside her told her there wasn't a whole lot of point. It was probably something related to him being an empath and if he needed to talk to her about it he would. After all, Yugi wasn't Tristan; Yugi still talked to her about things.

As they approached the Kaiba mansion, Tristan came almost bounding out of the house towards them. For a second he was a little taken back at their presence. Then his face filled with the same kind of stupid grin he used to have back before their friendship became complicated.

'Pretty cool huh?' Tristan indicated towards the bike in the driveway.

'Birthday present?' Téa cocked an eyebrow, not totally sure what to make of it.

'You want to go for a ride?' He ignored the question.

'I think I'll pass,' she and Yugi came to a stop a few feet away from him. 'So how are you today?'

'Well it's my birthday and I have a new toy to play with,' he laughed, 'how do you think I am?'

'Well, it was just, after yesterday, I thought…'

'Yesterday's in the past Téa, leave it there,' he averted his gaze. 'You know, I don't have to ride this thing right now, if you guys want to go somewhere and hang out for a while.'

'Couldn't we go in and hang out?' Yugi narrowed his gaze on him.

'Oh yeah, Seto would love that,' Tristan rolled his eyes. 'Besides, I feel like being outside for a while.'

'But don't you at least have to go in and put your helmet away?'

'What for?' He hung the helmet by the strap over one of the handles of the bike. 'It'll be perfectly safe here.'

'Isn't there anything you need to go in for?'

'Geez Yugi, what's with you, anyone would think you were here to see the house, not me.'

'Now that would be odd, wouldn't it?' Yugi gave a strange and almost strained sounding laugh.

'You're telling me,' Téa found herself studying him.

'So are we actually going to go somewhere, or are we just going to stand round this driveway all day?' Tristan folded his arm.

'Where do you want to go?' Téa turned her attention back to him.

'Do I look as though I care?'

'Well you're certainly in a good mood.'

'What did you expect?' Tristan shrugged again. 'For me to be sulking in bed or something? I mean, come on, it's my birthday and I want to enjoy it.'


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Kaiba sucked a deep breath in and cautiously opened the door to his brother's room. Mokuba was crouched in the corner, defacing yet another part of the wall with one of his nightmarish pictures. Although _picture_ probably wasn't quite the right word for it; they were more like the deformed doodles of a psychotic five year old. The type a teacher would get all bent out of shape about before suggesting to the child's parents they probably needed counselling.

Well Mokuba definitely needed counselling, but his tendency towards violence and using his own powers in that violence had prevented Kaiba from taking that root. The first for fear of what it would mean for his brother, the second for fear of what it would mean for the rest of them. The magical exposure in their Realm had been kept intentionally minimalised in order to protect the developing nations of children. It was why most Silkoneons and Odraians still hadn't reconnected with the family and friends they'd left behind. They were choosing to keep themselves isolated; it was a choice Kaiba could relate to and one the Pure had insisted he respected.

'I've eaten today if that's what you're wondering,' Mokuba interrupted his train of thoughts as he continued to etch his drawing into the wall. 'If it doesn't make me ill, I might think about eating again tomorrow.'

'That's not why I'm here.'

'Then why are you here? To stare at the face of a monster perhaps?'

'You're not a monster Mokuba.'

'You're right, I'm a demon.'

'Mokuba...'

'Where's Tristan?' Mokuba's voice was dull and almost callous.

'He went out.'

'You let him leave? Was that really such a good idea?'

'He's not a prisoner here,' Kaiba averted his gaze.

'Are you sure about that? I hear you fighting you know. I know he thinks he's a prisoner here and I know why. You're both so stubborn.'

'Mokuba...?'

'Why were you in the garden last night?'

'Huh?' Kaiba frowned at the sudden change in conversation.

'I heard you in the garden last night. Why were you out there?'

'It's not important.'

'Your tone suggests otherwise,' Mokuba shifted his position in order to add to what he was drawing. 'Shut up in here, I hear a lot more than you think. And because of that I know a lot more than you think. All those little things I couldn't see before, I see them now. And more... so much more... so much more its hurts. The nightmares...'

'I was dealing with some trespassers,' Kaiba cut him off, not wanting his brother to freak himself out.

'Who were they?'

'I don't know and, to be honest, I don't care. They're gone now.'

'You're lying,' Mokuba's voice curiously certain, 'you do care who they are. They unnerve you.'

'You are aware you're tapping into Win's powers right now, right?' Kaiba gritted his teeth and lowered his head.

'So? Isn't that what you and Tristan wanted me to do? Or do you not like it because I'm using the powers against you and not for you?'

'Mokuba...'

'Mokuba, Mokuba, Mokuba,' his brother mocked, 'you're so pathetic, you know that? You both are. Bitching and whining and moaning, because you're both so stubborn. Too stubborn to talk about what really matters. I saw your future. I saw the men you both become. The time you waste talking but not connecting. Not saying what really matters. Not admitting what's really important. Hollow men. Walking shells. Living death. That's what you become. That's what you let yourselves become.'

'Mokuba...'

'Leave me alone,' Mokuba cut him off, 'I want to be alone.'

'But...'

'Leave me alone,' he flicked an energy ball into his hand, 'I want to be alone.'

* * *

'I'm sorry, are we keeping you from something?' Téa cocked an eyebrow as she watched Tristan check his watch for the fifth time in ten minutes.

'No.'

'Then stop checking the time every five seconds.'

'Do you always have to exaggerate,' he rolled his eyes.

'I'm not exaggerating,' she mocked a pout, 'anyone would think you didn't want to spend time with me.'

'Well if you made spending time with you less of a headache I might not feel the need to be somewhere else all the time.'

'I'm not sure whether or not I should be insulted by that.'

'Be insulted,' he shrugged, before turning his attention to Yugi. 'You've been kind of quiet, you okay?'

'Yeah I'm fine.' Yugi shifted his gaze away. 'It's kind of chilly out here, don't you think? Maybe we should head back to yours; I'd love to see Mokuba.'

'Yeah, so would I,' Téa leant back against the picnic table they were sat on, 'he's been even harder to get hold of than you these last few months.'

'Sorry, that's a no go zone,' Tristan averted his gaze as he took a swig out of the can of coke he was drinking.

'A no go zone?' Téa frowned. 'What do you mean by _a no go zone_?'

'He's been a little... _under the weather_ recently,' Tristan fidgeted.

'And seeing his friends would somehow make him worse because...?'

'Because it would,' he snapped, 'can't you just accept that as an answer?'

'Not when there's clearly something weird going on,' Téa narrowed her gaze on him. 'And not just with Mokuba, with you too.'

'There's nothing weird going on with me,' he was starting to get agitated now. 'I thought we came here to hang out, not so you could interrogate me.'

'This isn't an interrogation,' Téa held her hands up, 'this is just general curiosity.'

'Whatever, would you just lay off it already?'

'Fine,' Téa rolled her eyes. 'So are you doing anything with your parents later? I mean, this is a big one, right; so seeing your parents has to be pretty mandatory.'

'Huh, what are you talking about?' Tristan blinked at her.

'Your birthday, you idiot,' she shook her head, 'it's one of those big, important landmark ones, right? So are your parents doing anything with you later?'

For a few long moments he just stared at her. Then he hid most of his face behind his can as he took another swig and shifted his gaze away.

'Tristan...' Téa hesitated, almost ridiculing herself for wanting to ask the question. 'Tristan,' she forced the words out, 'you do know how old you are today, right?'

'What…?' Tristan began choking on his drink. 'What kind of a question is that?'

'I... I know it's stupid and insulting and... whatever for me to ask, but... the way you've been acting... It's like you don't really know what today is.'

'Today is my birthday,' his tone was as unreadable as the look on his face, 'and I _was_ trying to enjoy it.'

'I know and I'm not trying to stop you from enjoying it, I... I just get this feeling something's wrong with you.'

'Wow Téa, you're so super sensitive, you know that? I mean, it's not as though I'm still recovering from severe depression or anything,' Tristan was starting to sound angry. 'Of course there's something wrong with me; normal people don't have a dozen or more suicide attempts under their belt. But, gee, thanks for reminding me I'm not normal.'

'I...'

'Wow Téa, I really have to agree with Tristan on this one,' there was a vague note of amusement in Yugi's voice, 'you are being pretty insensitive here.'

'I... I didn't mean that kind of wrong,' Téa was starting to feel really bad for bringing this up. 'I... I just think there's something wrong with your memory, that's all.'

'And exactly what are you basing this on?' Tristan gritted his teeth.

'The... the fact you couldn't remember bumping into Serenity or how to get home yesterday and... and the fact you... you don't seem to remember how old you are.'

'Who says I don't remember?'

'Because...' Téa swallowed hard and tried to sound more confident than she felt, 'because you still haven't told me how old you are.'

'And that's all the proof you need is it?' Tristan got to his feet. 'You know Téa, thanks for reminding me exactly why I can't stand hanging out with you anymore. Because you're constantly looking for some kind of explanation, some reason why I'm not the Tristan you remember. You want something you can fix so things can go back to the way they used to be and you can pretend like the last year never happened. Well guess what Téa, that's never going to happen. I'm never going to go back to being the Tristan you used to know. The Tristan you used to know died long before I ever contemplated taking my life for the first time. This is the Tristan you have now. The only Tristan that's left. Accept me. _Accept me!_'

'I... I do accept you,' she stared at him.

'Funny that, because it really doesn't feel like it,' he turned away from her.

'Tristan...'

'I'm going home,' he started walking away. 'Just do me one last little favour Téa; don't you ever come and see me again.'

* * *

He'd been so agitated walking away from them like that, it had taken him a while before he realised he didn't recognise where he was. Coming to a stop he stared around the unfamiliar streets and tried to work out if he didn't recognise them because he'd never been there before or... His teeth gritted tightly together as he tried to ignore the second half of his own train of thoughts.

Instead he reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out his mobile phone. His fingers hovered over the buttons for a few moments, before he sighed and pocketed the phone again. He couldn't keep doing this. He couldn't keep calling for help every single time he got into trouble. If he just calmed down and focused for a moment he could figure out where he was and then he could figure out how to get home from here. All he had to do was focus.

Unfortunately for him he was still really agitated from the argument he'd had with her. That agitation was making it almost impossible for him to relax, which made the streets around him become less and less familiar by the second. Panic was slowly starting to sink in causing him to forget why he'd become so agitated to begin with. As his mind cleared the only certainty he ever had began flashing inside of him like the obvious answer. He reached for his phone again, unlocked it and scrolled for the number he instinctively knew he needed. After pressing the dial button he held it to his ear and listened to it ring. On the third ring someone answered.

'So where are you now?'


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

'You need to apologise to Mai,' Ahna cut straight to the point.

'What for?'

'For how you acted earlier; she's pretty sensitive at the moment you know.'

He shrugged, but made no attempt at a reply.

'So are you going to apologise to her, or what?'

'Later.'

'Why not now?'

'Can't you see I'm busy? Geez!'

'What's wrong with you Veronie? This isn't like you at all; normally you bend over backwards to please Mai.'

'Maybe I'm fed up of being knocked back all the time, ever think of that,' his words were dull and the fact he didn't even look round at her suggested something else was going on here.

In her arms Crovell started to fuss. Instantly Ahna turned her attention towards him as she tried to work out exactly what had upset him.

'Maybe you should take him inside,' Joey gritted his teeth as he finally shot a look in her direction, 'I could do without the distraction.'

'Your son is a distraction now?'

'You're a distraction,' he turned his gaze back towards the flowers he was tending, 'can't you see I'm trying to work.'

* * *

'I can't believe _you_ suggested this Yugi.' Téa shot him a look as they made their way up the long driveway. 'I mean, you heard what he said…'

'I'm disappointed in you Téa; I didn't think you'd give up on your friendship with him so easily.'

'I'm not giving up; I just think he needs to cool down a little first.'

'We gave him an hour, didn't we?'

'I guess.'

'Then what are you getting all bent out of shape for,' Yugi's face filled with a strange smile.

Téa sighed heavily, but said nothing. Yugi was right, she was being too defeatist about this. Her friendship with Tristan might have been strained for a while now, but the fact both of them had continued to hold onto it for so long meant it was still worth fighting for; she just had to keep telling herself that. By this time they'd reached the door. Ringing the bell they waited and, to their surprise, a few minutes later it was answered by Kaiba.

'What, no servants to open the door for you?' Yugi cocked an eyebrow at him.

'What the hell are you doing here?' Kaiba glared back at him.

'We're here to see Tristan, is he in?'

'That's none of your business, now leave.' Kaiba started closing the door, but Yugi jammed his foot in the way. 'Move your foot Yugi.'

'Not till you let us in,' there was something almost singsongish about the way Yugi spoke which sent a trail of shivers up Téa's spine.

'I'm not letting you in,' Kaiba gritted his teeth, 'you're not welcome here, now go away.'

'Tristan is our friend Kaiba; we just want to talk to him.'

'Move your foot Yugi.'

'Let us in Kaiba.'

'No.'

'Then I'm not moving.'

Kaiba was about to say something, when the sound of screaming reached their ears. For a few long moments Kaiba just stood there frozen, then a pained look of frustration pulled across his face. Without a word he rapidly turned round and disappeared back into the house, allowing the door to swing open.

'Well what do you know,' Yugi chuckled, 'looks like we're gonna be let in after all.'

'You're not suggesting we just walk in, are you?' Téa blinked at him.

'The doors wide open, isn't it?'

'But that's breaking and entering.'

'It's not exactly breaking and entering if the door's been left open for us,' Yugi's expression was as sly as his voice.

'Yugi...'

'What are you so afraid of Téa? It's not like you're not already in trouble with Tristan anyway, what's a little more going to hurt? I mean, shouldn't doing whatever it takes to fix the broken state of your friendship prove to him just how much you care? Come on Téa,' he stepped backwards through the threshold as he held her gaze, 'you know you want to,' he reached a hand out towards her.

'For Tristan?' Téa hesitantly took hold of his hand.

'For Tristan.'

* * *

Duke tilted his head to one side as he found himself studying the sleeping Catilin. Technically this was their third date and the third time her need for sleep had become an issue, not that Duke minded. For a start he knew she wasn't like this normally and found himself wondering if maybe she was coming down with something. For a second she was really cute when she slept, which wasn't a bad thing to find out this early on in their relationship.

Just as he was thinking this she started to come round. Her doe-like brown eyes blinked up at him and a relaxed but weary smile pulled across her face as she stretched.

'I'm sorry; I didn't mean to fall asleep again.'

'I know, but if you're going to make a habit out of this I might suggest our next date takes place in bed. I mean...' he gave an awkward laugh as he scratched the back of his head edgily, 'like... err... having a picnic type thing in bed, not... you know... I... err... I'm just digging an awkward little hole for myself here, aren't I?'

Catilin just giggled and said nothing.

'I just hope you're not falling asleep all the time because you find me boring,' he deliberately changed the direction of the conversation.

'That's not it,' she shook her head, 'I don't find you boring at all Duke, don't ever think that. I don't know why I'm so tired all the time right now, I just am.'

'Are you sure you're not coming down with something?' Duke placed a hand on her forehead.

'I don't feel sick, I just feel tired.'

'Sometimes sickness can just feel like being really tired you know,' he found himself studying her again, 'maybe you should see a doctor about this.'

'I'm not sick,' she folded her arms, 'I don't need to see a doctor and you can't make me.'

'Yes but...'

'No. No doctors. I don't like doctors.'

'Okay, okay, I'm sorry,' Duke held his hands up defensively, not totally sure why he suddenly felt as though he'd stepped on a live bomb. 'So would you like to go on another date with me?'

'Uh-huh,' she nodded, 'tomorrow?'

'I was thinking more along the lines of Tuesday.'

'But Tuesday is ages away,' she pouted, 'why can't it be tomorrow?'

'Because this will give you time to catch up on your sleep,' Duke's face fell into a soft smile, 'and maybe then you'll be able to stay awake through one of our dates. Doesn't that sound like a good idea to you?'

'Yeah, I'd like that,' she grinned, 'okay, Tuesday it is then.'

'Good, but today isn't over yet either, so what do you want to do now?'

* * *

Every inch of his skin prickled with anticipation; he just couldn't believe how easy this was. As he entered the room he knew with absolute certainty his timing was spot on. He moved towards the object and allowed his hand to hover over it for a few long moments. This was a momentous occasion and for half a heartbeat he almost couldn't bring himself to make contact with it. But the heartbeat passed and his hand connected with the cool, solid weight of the metal.

The power the object radiated was beyond his wildest dreams. It filled him with an exhilarated sense of self and a renewed feeling of purpose. As he picked the object up all he could think about was finding a way of trying his new toy out. A fiendish plan made its way through his mind, causing a deep, rumbling chuckle to emanate out of him. If somebody had told him a few months ago these would become his own thoughts he wasn't quite sure he'd have believed it. But now...

Now all he could think about was pain and misery and how much joy the suffering of others would bring to him. He didn't know where these thoughts and feelings had come from, but he did know they were his and there was nothing he wanted more than to indulge them. And soon... soon he knew he would.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Almost as soon as they'd entered the Kaiba mansion, Yugi had suggested they split up. His explanation for why it was such a good idea was so rushed Téa wasn't even sure it actually existed. For what felt like an eternity she just stood in a kind of frozen stupor in the middle of the hallway.

'Can I help you?'

The sound of his voice startled her so much an embarrassingly loud gasp escaped her. Laughing nervously, she turned to see Tristan watching her from the doorway of one of the rooms leading off of the hallway she was in.

'Well... yeah,' her lips twitched into an edgy smile, 'I wanted to apologise... for what I said earlier.'

Tristan's face filled with the look of a confused little boy and he simply shook his head at her.

'Are you saying you won't accept my apology?' Téa took half a step towards him.

'I don't understand what you're talking about,' there was a little boy lilt to his voice. 'Who are you?'

'You're kidding, right?' The words came out in strained laugh.

Again he just stared at her and shook his head. Cautiously Téa took several steps towards him, coming to a stop a couple of feet away. Her eyes then scanned him a few times, just to check this wasn't some kind of joke or payback or... whatever.

'Are you a friend of his?' Tristan's eyes studied her with an uncertain curiosity.

'What?'

'Are you a friend of his? Is he important to you too?'

'Important to me...?' Téa shook her head and gawked at him. 'Are you talking about Kaiba?'

'I... I don't know; I don't remember. But I know he's important and that's all that matters.'

A noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob escaped Téa as she placed a hand over her mouth.

'You look sad, have I said something to upset you?' Tristan's voice toned with innocence. 'I didn't mean to.'

'Tristan...' her voice sounded as dry as her mouth felt.

'What does that mean?'

'You... you don't even know...' she took a step back. 'Do you remember anything? Anything at all?'

'I remember that I have someone important,' a soft smile filled his face, 'someone I know will take care of me no matter what. I know it in here,' he placed both of his hands over his heart, 'it's the only thing I have and the only thing I need.'

There were several questions Téa knew she wanted to ask, but given the circumstances felt she might regret them later. Instead she decided to play it safe and keep the questions on as neutral a level as possible.

'Do you know what's wrong with you?'

'He said something bad happened; something which makes me like this sometimes,' he tilted his head to one side. 'He says if I just stay calm and don't get upset about things, then everything will come back to me.'

'Did... did he say what this bad thing was?' Téa pressed her lips together.

'I didn't ask and he didn't tell,' Tristan shook his head. 'Why would I need to know?'

'Because it's reduced you down to a blank slate,' she could hear hysterical anger creep into her voice. 'What if he was the one who did this to you? What if it's his fault you're like this?'

'He wouldn't,' he sounded genuinely hurt by the idea.

'How do you know when you can't remember anything?'

'Because I know,' he beat his hand against his chest like a child playing Tarzan.

'No you don't,' she gritted her teeth. 'All this time I just thought he was being controlling and possessive, I didn't realise he was being manipulative and brainwashing as well. Of course it makes perfect sense for the controlling megalomaniac to be so selfish he has to find some way of making sure no one else plays with his toys.'

'Shut up,' Tristan glared at her, 'stop saying mean things about him. Shut up.'

'He has you completely wrapped around his little finger, doesn't he?' Téa's face filled with a look of disgust. 'You know he doesn't actually care about you, right? You're just the closest thing he's ever likely to have to a real friend and he doesn't want to share.'

'Shut up, you don't know anything, shut up,' he stamped his foot like a little kid.

'You need to come with me,' Téa grabbed hold of his arm.

'No,' he pulled back from her, 'I'm not going anywhere with you. You're mean and horrid and I don't like you. Go away.'

'This is for your own good Tristan,' she made to grab his arm again, but he just slapped her hands away.

'Go away, leave me alone,' he pulled himself back into the room and slammed the door.

'Tristan,' she tried to push the door open, but it was pretty obvious he was using his weight to keep it closed. 'Tristan I just want to help you.'

'I don't want your help, go away,' Tristan shouted through the door.

'Tristan...'

'I hate you, I hate you, go away, leave me alone, go away!'

* * *

Almost as soon as she'd entered the room her head had started to spin. Her hands went out for the first solid object she could find to lean her weight against as dots started to appear in her vision. She felt sick. More than sick. To make things worse the dots in her vision were becoming bigger, blurring together into a head spinning mess. Her head swarmed with a feeling both light and nonsensically heavy at the same time. She barely felt the weight of her body collapse beneath her as she slipped into a state of unconsciousness.

* * *

'I can't believe the way he's acting,' Ahna raged as she and Covo made their way towards the kitchen. 'It's like he woke up this morning a whole different person. I mean even when we were together all he could talk about was her. It's how I knew they were destined to be together and why I was so uncomfortable with the darkness's plan.'

'Mai has been knocking him back a lot lately,' Covo pulled a face, 'maybe it's been getting to him more than any of us realised.'

'No, I don't believe that for a second. No one who knows Veronie like I do would believe it. The Veronie I know would walk on hot coals for Mai and a few knock backs to ill timed proposals are not going to change that. That person I spoke to this morning... that wasn't Veronie.'

'Maybe it was the First,' Covo pressed his lips together. 'I mean, Veronie might not act like that, but the First would, right? Isn't she kind of emotionally invested in their relationship too? Maybe she's upset about something and is acting it out through Veronie somehow.'

'Hmm, I hadn't thought of that,' Ahna pressed her lips together. 'It is possible I guess.'

By this time they'd reached the kitchen. The first thing Ahna's eyes were drawn to was the body lying almost lifelessly on the ground. Her heart stopped dead in her chest as every inch of her froze.

'Oh my god, Mai,' Covo's voice was as sharp as an intake of air.

'Covo go fetch Veronie,' Ahna forced her attention towards him, 'now.'

* * *

Macar sprinted his way through the corridors towards the garden. Everything in him was praying Joey was still out there somewhere and would be easily found. The last thing he wanted was to have to search every inch of the Southern Palace for the guy. It was one of those situations where time was of the essence. It didn't take him long to burst out into the garden and his eyes darted around for less than a minute before he spotted Joey.

His heart stopped dead in his chest and a spike of highly charged emotions shot through him. Joey was stood just in front of one of the flowerbeds, with his arms wrapped around some scantily clad ash blonde girl. Disbelief rolled into anger as he watched Joey kiss her. Everything in Covo wanted to storm across the garden and hit Joey for his betrayal, but there was no time for that.

Fuelled with a strange kind of angry determination, Covo raced his way back down the network of corridors to the kitchen.

'Where's Veronie?' Ahna's eyes lifted to meet with his. 'Couldn't you find him?'

'Oh I found him alright,' Covo spat out the words, 'but I don't think he's going to be any help to us right now.'

'What?' Ahna laughed nervously. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

'It means he tricked us all into thinking he's a great guy, when really he's just a selfish bastard.'

'Covo, how can you say that?'

'If you'd seen what I just saw you'd have no trouble believing me on this one,' Covo gritted his teeth.

'What... what did you see?'

'I saw him cheating on Mai.'


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Joey couldn't believe it when she'd appeared before him. Within seconds he had his arms around her and, before either of them had breathed so much as a word, their lips were locked together in a passionate kiss. Everything about the mysterious blonde filled Joey with a sense of longing. In was unbearable just how little resistance he had to her. He wanted her. He needed her. He had to have her and nothing and no one was going to stop him from getting her.

As their kiss ended, she pulled away from him and he found himself feverishly studying her. She was so beautiful he was almost certain it was unnatural and the fact half of her face remained permanently hidden behind her hair only made her more alluring. She made his body ache, his heart ache, his whole being ache with how much he wanted her. No one had ever made him feel like this before and there was just no way he wanted it to stop.

'Who are you?' He breathed. 'What are you?'

She made no attempt at a reply. Instead her visible eye studied him as her lips remained almost fixed in a permanent smile.

'Who are you?' Joey lightly ran his fingers through her hair. 'Why can't I get you out of my head?'

Again she said nothing.

'What are you? Why won't you answer me?'

Continuing in her silence, she lightly ran her fingers over his lips and, despite himself, he began kissing them. She then wrapped her arms round the back of his neck and pulled him in close to her. They began to kiss again and suddenly nothing else mattered to him anymore. Nothing but the feeling of being with her. He had to be with her.

'Are you aware of what you're doing to me?' The words were out of Joey's mouth as soon as the kiss ended. 'I think I love you.'

She nodded slowly, before pulling herself away from him. She then took him by the hand and began to lead him across the garden.

'Where are we going?'

Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth he stopped caring about the answer. She wouldn't tell him anyway; he'd stopped expecting her too. But it didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Not so long as she was with him. If she was with him how could anything else matter ever again?

* * *

Téa hadn't wanted to leave Tristan behind, but she hadn't really been left with much of a choice. He might have had no memory and acted a lot like a petulant child, but unfortunately he was still a lot stronger than she was. His lack of memory hadn't affected his stubbornness either. With the two things conspiring against her there was just no way she was going to be able to get him out of that house on her own.

It was why she decided reinforcements were needed; namely Tristan's parents. If Kaiba thought he had them fooled into thinking he was some kind of decent human being, then he had another thing coming. She was going to prove to everybody the only thing Kaiba was motivated by was his own selfish need for power and control. Breaking apart her friendship group was just his latest way of doing it and he was _not_ going to get away with it. Especially not if he was seriously hurting Tristan in the process.

'I can sense your misguided anger from here,' the sound of a voice at once familiar and yet so strangely dark came from behind her, bringing her to a stop. 'Are you so idiotically blind to the notion you might be the one driving your friends away, that you have to keep finding someone else to blame?'

His words made her take a sharp, sob like breath in. The suggestion was beyond cruel and certainly not something she would have expected from him.

'What's the matter Téa, did I hit a nerve?'

'Why are you being so cruel?'

She turned to face him and almost instantly wished she hadn't. In his hands he was holding the most beautiful weapon she'd ever seen, but his face was twisted and contorted into a dark expression which terrified her.

'Please... please tell me this is some kind of joke,' she backed away.

'What's the matter Téa, didn't you see this coming?' He chuckled. 'I'm guessing from your expression you didn't. Or at least you didn't want to. What a _bad_ friend you are.'

'I...' she shook her head, 'I'm not a bad friend, I...'

'Oh please, you couldn't convince anyone of that right now. Your precious little friendship circle has crumbled away from you and it's all your fault. Because you were _so_ concerned with keeping _everything_ the same, you wouldn't let anyone change. Naughty, naughty Téa, don't you understand people need to change? Change is a good thing and everyone around you is happily embracing that concept, so why can't you?'

'It's not... it's not that... I...'

'It's okay Téa,' he cut her off, 'I understand why you don't want people to change. Change equals growth, growth makes people stronger, strong people drift apart and you don't want that. Because the truth is you're terrified of being alone,' he pointed the weapon towards her. 'It's your worst fear, isn't it? A fear which is slowly becoming reality as your friends leave you one by one.'

'No...' she shook her head, 'no...'

'Well guess what Téa, I'm in the nightmare making business now,' a cruel smirk pulled at his lips, 'and I think it's time you experienced what true loneliness feels like.'

'No... no please... you can't...'

'Oh, now see that's where you're wrong,' he laughed, 'I can do anything I want. And right now the one thing I want more than anything is to hurt you.'

* * *

He knew it was going to be fun, but he'd never imagined it would be that much fun. As he walked away all he could think about was doing the same thing again to someone else. He knew right then he could spend all day just torturing people and never get tired of it. Just as he was thinking that he spotted a phone booth and some semblance of an amused idea crept through his head. Walking over to it he picked up the handset and dialled. After a few rings a voice on the other end answered.

'Hello, emergency services, what can I do for you?'

'I need an ambulance,' he couldn't keep the cruel notes of amusement out of his voice if he tried, 'some poor girl's just been brutally attacked.'

* * *

'Where am I?' Mai's voice was more than a little groggy as she finally started to rouse.

'You're in the hospital.'

'What?' She instantly wrapped her arms around her stomach as her eyes flew open. 'Is there something wrong… is there something wrong with my baby?'

'Don't worry,' Ahna's face filled with a tense smile, 'the doctors say she's fine.'

'Then what... what happened?'

'You fainted. The doctors think it might be down to the sheer lack of sleep you've had lately, but... there's still a few more tests they want to run.'

'What... what kinds of tests?'

'I don't know. They said they'd explain it to you when you woke up,' Ahna placed a hand on her arm. 'But... they want to keep you in here for a few days in order to monitor your condition.'

'Okay,' Mai nodded tensely, 'where's Joey?'

Ahna didn't reply, instead she just shifted her gaze away.

'Ahna is something wrong?' She stared at her. 'Where's Joey?'

'He… he's not here.'

'Why not? I mean, he does know that I'm in the hospital, right?'

Ahna pressed her lips together and said nothing.

'Ahna what's going on?' Mai felt herself starting to panic. 'Why isn't Joey here?'

For a few long moments Ahna remained silent. She turned her eyes towards Mai, opened and closed her mouth a few times, before shaking her head and turning away again.

'Ahna you're scaring me,' Mai could hear the trembling in her own voice. 'Where's Joey?'

'I... I don't...' Ahna's voice sounded strange, 'I don't want to tell you because I don't want to believe it's true.'

'Please... please... please don't tell me his dead,' Mai's stomach clenched with fear.

'No,' she shook her head, 'no, he's very much alive.'

'Then what is it?' Her voice began to break. 'Why won't you tell me? Why isn't he here?'

'I... I can't... I can't tell you what I don't believe is true.'

'Ahna you're really scaring me now. Is he hurt? Has he been kidnapped? What?'

'When we... when we found you collapsed in the kitchen, Covo... Covo went to look for Veronie and...'

'He didn't find him?' Mai stared at her. 'Is that it?'

'I wish... I wish that were it, believe me, because I don't want to believe Covo saw what he saw. But I know... I know Covo wouldn't lie about something like this.'

'Something like what? Ahna?'

'Covo... Covo saw Veronie... Covo... Covo saw Veronie cheating on you.'


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

'So... how are you feeling?'

'Like myself,' Tristan felt his face pull into an uncertain expression, 'although I'm not sure that's such a good thing right now.'

'What do you mean?' Kaiba narrowed his gaze.

'Téa,' Tristan gritted his teeth, 'she saw me... like that and I think she's going to cause problems for us.'

'Is there any way of keeping her quiet?'

'She left a while ago, so she's probably done more than enough damage by now,' he gave a disgusted sigh. 'You know she's convinced herself you're abusing me somehow.'

'You don't think she would tell people that, do you?' Kaiba sounded agitated.

'I don't think there's any way of stopping her,' Tristan folded his arms, 'not at this point. We're going to need to do some damage control and quickly,' he shifted his gaze away. 'So I was thinking I should go see my parents, since that's where she's likely to start.'

'Hmm.'

'What is it?' Tristan met his gaze.

'Nothing,' he turned away.

'No, I can tell from your tone it's something. So, what? You think I'm just making this up as an excuse to tell my parents about my latest problem in what's stacking up to be a very long list?'

'That's not it.'

'Then what is it?'

'I told you, it's nothing.'

'Why don't I believe you?' Tristan grabbed hold of Kaiba's shoulders and forced him to meet his gaze. 'Why don't you want me talking to my parents?'

'Because they trusted me to look out for you and I failed,' Kaiba pulled away from him. 'Just like I failed to keep Mokuba safe from whatever that hell future did to him. I don't like failure and I sure as hell don't like other people knowing about it.'

'So this is all about ego for you,' Tristan rolled his eyes, 'I should have known. But would you rather my parents only had Téa's warped little viewpoint on this situation? Would you rather they took me away from you?'

Almost as soon as he'd said the words he wished he hadn't. The meaning behind them edged too close to overstepping the boundaries of their friendship. Inside Tristan willed Kaiba to ignore them or at least say something. Instead all he got was a prolonged silence.

'I guess I should go now,' Tristan made his way towards the door, 'the longer I put it off, the harder it's going to be.'

'Tristan...'

'Don't worry; I'll be back in time to put Mokuba to bed.'

'That's not what I was going to say.'

'Then what were you going to say,' Tristan glanced back towards him.

'I...' Kaiba hesitated and shook his head. 'It doesn't matter.'

'Funny,' Tristan coughed out a laugh, 'I thought only I was allowed to use that phrase.'

* * *

For a long time Ahna and Mai had just talked about their encounters with Joey and what Covo had seen. Neither of them had really wanted to believe it was true, but the longer they talked, the more things started adding up. But even so the odd, distant behaviour had come on too suddenly for this to be anything but a recent development. On top of that she just knew there was no way Joey would do something like this to her; not whilst she was pregnant. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't.

Ahna had eventually left a couple of hours after the doctors had run their final tests for the day, leaving Mai to drift in and out of unhappy consciousness. During those couple of hours another girl had been moved into the bed next to her and the curtains pulled across. As Mai lay there in a state halfway between consciousness and sleep, she heard two of the nurse gossiping.

'So do they know who she is yet?'

'No.'

'Shame, she's quite a pretty little thing.'

'Probably be left with that one scar though. Mostly bruising, fortunately.'

'Does anyone know what happened yet?'

'Well the guy who phoned it in said she was attacked, but after saying where she was, he hung up.'

'Probably didn't want to get involved.'

'Yeah, probably, either that or he was the one who did it.'

'Only complete and utter psychos phone their own crimes in. My guess is it was probably some gang and the good Samaritan was afraid of repercussions.'

'Who'd have thought we'd start getting gang attacks to this level in Domino.'

'I know. And they had the nerve to rob her too. No purse. No ID. It's going to make tracking down the parents pretty hard.'

'Yeah, it will.'

'Still, she got off better than that girl a few months back.'

'Oh yeah. She'll be grateful of that when she wakes up, I'm sure.'

'You know, I've got a daughter about her age.'

'You should warn her to be careful when she goes out then.'

'Oh she knows.'

'Still, it only takes being in the wrong place at the wrong time and everybody's capable of that.'

There was something lulling about the nurses' idle voices and Mai began to feel herself drifting off again.

'She's such a pretty little thing.'

'So was the other girl. In fact the two look a lot alike.'

'You're right, they do. Hey maybe we really have a psycho on our hands. Like a serial killer in training or something. A potential killer with a fetish for brunettes...'

* * *

There was no space too small for a picture to fit. That's what he'd discovered. It didn't matter if the drawing was crude and inaccurate. That wasn't the point. The point was to get these images out of his head and weaken the monster's control on him. He had to weaken the monster's control on him so he could remember what he'd been told. The vital piece of information which would send the monster away forever. If got rid of the monster then he wouldn't become the monster and then... then he would be okay again. Then he could be around people again.

Nightmarish images clawed at the space behind his eyes. It felt as though they wanted to break out as much as he wanted to get rid of them. He didn't know if that was a good thing or not, but he didn't really care. Baby monsters didn't have to care about why they were doing what they were doing; they just had to do it. They had to do it and hope it didn't turn them into an adult monster in the process.

A crawling shudder ran up and down his spine as he heard the door open behind him.

'What do you want now,' he growled out the words, not wanting to turn round.

'It's time for you to go to bed.'

'Are you sure; seems to me like I've only just woken up.'

'I guess time has no meaning for you in here,' his intruder gave a nervous laugh, 'then again today did just fly by. So... busy day was it? I can see at least four new drawings today.'

'Congratulations,' he felt his lips curl into a snarl, 'I see your powers of observation are better than your memory.'

'You still haven't told me what it all means.'

'A mindless fool like you wouldn't understand.'

'Mokuba...!'

'Leave me alone.'

'I can't. I told you, it's time for you to go to bed.'

'And you _need_ to put me to bed, do you? Like I'm some little kid who can't do anything for themselves.'

'Yes actually.'

'Get out,' he gritted his teeth.

'Not till you're in bed. You need to get some sleep.'

'Don't tell me what I need,' he flick summoned an energy ball into his hand, 'you have no idea what I need.'

'But I want to know. I want to know how I can help you. So talk to me. Tell me what you need.'

'What I need you can't give me.'

'You don't know that.'

'Oh, I do. I know it all too well. I know a lot of things all too well. You should remember that. Then again, why am I talking to you about remembering anything? It's a good day for you if you wake up knowing your own name.'

'Mokuba...'

'I thought I told you to leave me alone,' he tossed the energy ball over his shoulder, not really caring whether or not it hit anything.

'Not till you're in bed.'

'I'll go to bed when I'm ready.'

'Which is code for never,' his intruder was starting to sound angry now, 'don't you think your brother and I have cottoned onto your games by now? It's late and my day has been far from stress free, so please do me a favour and go to bed.'

'Fine, but don't think I'm happy about this.'

'I don't need you to be happy about it. I just need you to sleep.'


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

The mysterious blonde had brought Joey to Kama Traydon and made it feel as though this were the only place in the whole multiverse he needed to be. Sat on the edge of the Sacred Huntay, Joey had been completely entranced by the music playing continuously from an unseen source. Every melody was familiar, but every song's lyrics were obscured as though words didn't matter. But then they didn't with her. For countless hours he'd just sat there, sometimes watching the ash blonde dance, sometimes waiting for her to return from whatever mysterious place it was she went to. The knowledge that she would always come back was enough to stop Joey from questioning the situation; not that his questions would have received answers anyway.

It was dark when the other two arrived. Like her they were both dressed in black and had half of their faces hidden by their varying hairstyles. The three of them danced together as though dancing was all they really knew how to do. Sometimes their dancing was energetic and lively. Sometimes it was free formed and careless. Sometimes it was slow and sometimes it was almost choreographed. But always it caused the three of them to radiate a strange kind of brilliance. The music filled them with life, the dancing turned that life into energy and the dancing made all three of them grow with a powerful kind of beauty.

Even though Joey knew his heart belong to the ash blonde, he felt a strange kind of tugging towards all three of them. They were all beautiful and perfect, even the male. They all made him wish he shared their energy. They all made him want to get up and join in their dancing. But for some reason he remained in place. He didn't question it. He didn't fight it. He just allowed himself to remain rooted to the ground, admiring them. He wanted to be a part of their world and at the same time he was just content to even know their world existed.

As the sun started to rise, they disappeared one by one and, for the first time since he'd arrived, Kama Traydon fell silent. It was a strange kind of silence to experience after such a long time of nothing but music. It made his mind feel numb and caused his thoughts to become somewhat stilted. He didn't know what he was supposed to do now, but he knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to just sit there and wait. They would return; he was certain of that. So all he had to do was wait.

* * *

'Is he still not back?'

Covo sighed and shook his head.

'I can't believe he's doing this to Mai,' Ahna lowered her gaze, 'how could he?'

'Honestly, I don't know,' Covo half turned from her, 'but he did this to you, so are you really that surprised?'

'He didn't do this to me,' Ahna found herself gawking at him. 'For a start we were never in love to begin with. For a second he'd actually left me before he started a relationship with her. Okay, it might have been on the same day near enough, but still...'

'Yeah, well...' Covo folded his arms and gritted his teeth, 'his track record still speaks for itself.'

'He doesn't have a track record,' even she could hear how tight her voice was, 'and he loves Mai way too much to do something like this to her. I just can't believe he would.'

'You know, you've really got to stop playing the jealous ex,' he rolled his eyes.

'This is no time to be making stupid jokes Covo.'

'It's not like there's anything else I can do.'

'You could go out and look for him.'

'Yeah, because that's really going to help. I mean, what exactly am I supposed to do if I find him? Ask him why the hell his messing around with some skank when his pregnant girlfriend is in hospital. God that bastard makes me so angry.'

'I can't believe you're just judging him guilty like this.'

'What else can I do when the evidence speaks so loudly for itself?'

'Well maybe we're not listening to the evidence correctly. Maybe there's something else going on here.'

'I can't believe _you're_ defending him,' Covo shot her a look.

'And I can't believe you're damning him like this. I think we should call in Jay and SK.'

'Why, what good would that do?'

'They'd be able to find out if something's affecting Veronie somehow.'

'You think something might be controlling him? Really? That's the explanation you want to go with here?'

'I think we should at least try to rule it out before condemning him completely,' Ahna met and held his gaze.

'Okay, fine, you're right,' Covo sighed, 'but how do we call them exactly, we're not the ones they're listening out for.'

'No, but Mai is.'

'You think Mai would really be up for calling them right now?'

'I think she would do anything to prove Veronie still loves her and only her,' Ahna nodded. 'And what other choice do we have right now; she's the only one we can turn to here.'

'Okay, we'll talk to Mai, but... what if Veronie isn't being controlled by anything?'

'We'll cross that bridge when we come to it,' Ahna sucked a deep breath in, 'right now we have to believe he's innocent till proven guilty.'

* * *

Mai sighed heavily as she stared at the curtain separating her from her roommate. A part of her felt sorry for the girl; beaten, unidentified, alone, no one should have to suffer that.

'Sleep well?' The younger of the two nurse's from the day before smiled at her as she entered.

'Well, I slept,' Mai found herself yawning for the fifth time in as many minutes.

'Cheer up love, you have visitors coming later.'

'Who?'

'The lass who brought you in and her partner I think.'

'Oh.'

'Hoping for someone else were we? Like the baby's father maybe.'

She sighed again, but didn't reply.

'Like that, is it love?'

'I really don't know right now,' she shifted her gaze away.

'I'm sure he'll come round,' the Nurse drew back the curtain separating the two beds.

'Do they know who she is yet?' Mai glanced towards the girl, whose face was still hidden.

'No, unfortunately.'

'Has no one reported her missing?'

'Well if somebody has, the police haven't been round here to tell us yet.'

'So she's a bit of a mystery then?'

'Just a bit of one,' the Nurse gave a wry smile. 'Still, I dare say she'll be able to tell us herself when she wakes up.'

'Do you know when she will?'

'I'd have thought she'd be awake by now personally.'

'I see.'

Mai carefully pulled herself into a sitting position. Just as she did Covo and Ahna, carrying baby Crovell, entered.

'Well looks like you'll be good for company for a while,' the Nurse nodded at them, as she left. 'I'll be back to check on you in a little while love.'

'How are you feeling?' Ahna perched herself on the edge of the bed.

'Tired.'

'Mai, there's no easy way to say this, so I'll just come right out with it; Veronie's gone missing.'

'He's probably run off with his mystery blonde,' Mai rolled her eyes, suddenly bitter.

'Perhaps,' Covo averted his gaze, 'but Ahna and I have been talking. We think maybe Veronie is being controlled by an outside force. I mean, it's happened before, right? And one thing all three of us can agree on is that he wasn't acting like himself yesterday.'

'That doesn't mean anything; cheaters always act suspicious right before they're caught.'

'Yes, but for things to happen this quickly... I don't know any guy as in love as Veronie made us believe he was would fall for someone else just out of nowhere like this,' Ahna shook her head. 'Look, the point is we want you to get hold of SK and Jay and ask their opinion.'

'And just what's that going to achieve?'

'Look, it's at least worth a try, don't you think?'

'Da da da da da,' Crovell chirped and clapped his hands together.

'I'm guessing that means you agree?' Mai found herself half smirking at the infant. 'Fine,' she sighed, 'I guess it's worth a shot. After all, if there is something wrong with Joey then maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to forgive him for this.'


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

The second he heard Mai's voice calling for them, SK knew something big was about to happen. He wasn't sure if it was connected to his fear about the Wen or not, but he knew there was only one way he was going to find out.

'Come on Jay, let's go,' he burst into Jay's room without bothering to knock.

Jay was sat in the middle of the room staring at the wall ahead of him. There was something really weird about the expression on his face; as though he couldn't be further away from that moment they were in if he tried.

'Jay are you okay?' SK licked his lips as he moved towards the other Nethher Herin.

There was no reply.

'Jay?' SK waved a hand in front of his face as he knelt down in front of him. 'Jay are you in there?' He nudged Jay's shoulder a couple of times. 'Octan? Jay? Anyone home?'

Just as SK was starting to feel himself panic, Jay sucked in a sharp gasp of air, which was both unnatural and unnecessary considering he was dead. He then blinked a few times before lifting his gaze to meet with SK's and a confused look spread across his face.

'You know you're supposed to knock before you enter, right?'

'I did knock,' SK lied as his tongue skated across his lips, 'you were just tranced out or something. Are you okay?'

'Yeah... yeah, I was just... meditating.'

'You know how to meditate?' SK cocked an eyebrow at him.

'Okay, fine, Octan was meditating,' Jay rolled his eyes, 'but since we share a body I don't see why you need to be so pedantic about it. What do you want anyway?'

'Mai's calling us, don't you hear her?'

'Uh...' Jay jumped to his feet, 'you're right, she is. I guess I was in a deeper state than I realised.'

'You mean Octan was, right?'

'Same difference,' he shrugged. 'So what do you think she wants?'

'Do I look like a mind reader?' SK licked his lips again. 'Although I think if we leave her waiting much longer she might assume we've been drinking again.'

'Please, neither one of us is stupid enough to make that mistake twice.'

'Yeah, but making it once is more than enough to convince others you're capable of it,' he sighed. 'So what do you say we stop wasting time and get going already?'

'Fine by me,' Jay grinned at him, 'after you.'

* * *

From his vantage point he found himself studying the all too silent house. A part of him was dying to know whether or not they'd realised it was gone yet. If they did there wasn't a whole lot any of them could do about it. Not now. Not after all his meticulous planning and calculations. Still, they were the one potential hiccup in his plan. The one thing he had to deal with now rather than later if everything were going to go smoothly for him. Because, other than him, they were the only ones who knew this weapon existed and if they told the others...

'You have to stop,' a barely audible voice interrupted his train of thoughts, 'you can't go through with this.'

'I can and I will,' he smirked, 'and I'm going to enjoy every single second of it too. Why shouldn't I? I've earned this.'

'What's that even supposed to mean?'

'It means I've waited far too long to take what's rightfully mine and I'm going to enjoy every single second of what's to come. Dealing with them will be child's play. A warm up to the main event. And it's not like I wouldn't have to deal with them eventually anyway, so why not first? This makes sense. It all makes so much sense.'

'No, it doesn't, it really doesn't. This isn't you. Please, you must see that? You have to stop this before it's too late.'

'It's already too late, or weren't you paying attention before?'

'Please, you have to stop now, before you make things any worse.'

'But I want things to be worse, don't you understand that?'

'I... No, I don't understand. I don't understand any of this. Who are you?'

'You know who I am. I am who I've always been.'

'No, you can't...'

'Oh I'm sorry, what was that?' He cut the voice off. 'Only I don't think I can hear you anymore.'

There were no further protests. No more voices bleating on like they thought they had the right to act like his conscience. What did he need a conscience for anyway? It wasn't like he was going to use it. Not now. Not since he understood what really made people powerful. And nobody could tell him he wasn't powerful, not anymore.

'Can you feel me watching you?' He directed his question towards the house. 'Can you sense what's coming? I hope you can, because I don't think it will be as much fun without a real fight.'

* * *

Kaiba's eyes drifted towards the clock on the mantel for the third time in as many minutes. Tristan should have been back by now. He'd only gone out so early because his parents had insisted on getting him checked out by their family doctor. Kaiba hadn't been too keen on the idea, mostly because he wasn't sure they were going to find anything and if they did...

His train of thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. A few seconds later another door opened and closed, then there was silence. Five minutes ticked slowly by and Kaiba couldn't help but feel more than a little annoyed Tristan hadn't come to find him and tell him how things had gone. Getting to his feet he made his way out of his office and down along the corridor. From the sounds of things Tristan had gone into one of the rooms nearest the front door. To his uncertain horror he was right.

Tristan was spread out unconscious on the floor of the fourth room Kaiba checked. Stood above him looking like the cat who got the cream was the stalker-like youth.

'What did you do to him?' Kaiba balled his hands into fists.

The youth's single visible eye lifted to meet with Kaiba's. His face was spread with the same waxy smile he'd worn in their last two encounters, only this time it felt much more sinister and taunting.

'I asked you a question,' Kaiba gritted his teeth, 'what did you do to him?'

The youth shook his head and made no attempt at a verbal reply. Instead he just continued to stare at Kaiba.

'What did you do to him? What did you do? Answer me?' Kaiba could feel his anger rising. 'If you don't tell me what you did to him right now, I'll…'

The words caught in his throat, as his body became paralysed. A shot of fear moved through Kaiba's whole body as the youth slinked his way towards him. When he reached him, he began to trace Kaiba's features with his fingers. The touch was light and soft and innocent, but somehow that just made it feel even more violating. Kaiba wanted to pull away. To scream at the youth to stop. Anything. He wanted to do anything other than just stand there like some marble statue.

After a couple of minutes the youth turned away from him and made his way back towards Tristan's body. He knelt down beside it and began fiddling with something around Tristan's neck. Seconds later he got back to his feet and revealed the key on a chain he was now holding. To Kaiba's disgust the youth wasted no time in fixing his stolen item around his neck, before admiring himself in the room's wall mounted mirror.

Kaiba had never felt so angry in his whole life. It was as if the youth knew every single button to press and the order to press it in. In fact the only thing he could do to somehow make this situation any worse was if he decided to kidnap Mokuba. The second Kaiba thought it he felt his stomach lurch; what if that was exactly what he was planning to do next?

The youth turned back towards Kaiba and posed as if to say _what do you think?_ His fingers then began to play with the chain the key was attached to, before he lifted the key up to his lips and kissed it. Even without words Kaiba knew exactly what the youth was trying to say; _I'm taking this because I know what it means and that's the only reason I need._

Kaiba began mentally cursing the guy over and over and over again. But it didn't matter how many expletives he thought of if he was unable to project them at his tormentor. Instead all he could do was watch as the youth slinked his way back towards him and took hold of his hand. The youth then lifted Kaiba's arm, so his palm was facing upwards. His single visible eye focused on it as he began tracing light circles with his fingers. After a couple of minutes of this, the youth leant down and kissed the palm. His lips linger for a lot longer than Kaiba would have liked, before he straightened himself up again. For a heartbeat the youth's single visible eye met with Kaiba's, then he simply vanished without a trace.

The second the youth left the paralysing hold on Kaiba's body lifted. Everything in him coursed with a confusing mixture of anger and fear. His teeth gritted together, as his nails dug so tightly into his own palms they hurt. No one... no one had ever made him feel this powerless before and he knew he didn't like it.

'You'll pay for this,' Kaiba's whole body trembled, as his eyes turned towards Tristan's unconscious body, 'for what you've done to both of us. You'll pay for it, don't think you won't.'


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

'Based on what you've told us, I definitely think some kind of outside force is at play here.' SK licked his lips. 'Either he's possessed or someone's manipulating him somehow. I mean, think about it, it's not just Joey's feelings for Mai involved here, it's also the First's feelings for Win; emotions like that don't just turn themselves on and off.'

'SK's right,' Jay folded his arms, 'someone or something has to be controlling him somehow.'

'Well that makes me feel heaps better,' Mai rolled her eyes, 'Joey's not cheating on me, he's just possessed.'

'Well at least possession we can deal with,' Ahna's face filled with a weak smile.

'She's got a point,' SK licked his lips again, 'we simply need to find out who or what's controlling him and stop it.'

'And I'd say our number one suspect is this mystery blonde Covo mentioned,' Jay smirked.

'Oh I don't know,' SK smirked at him, 'you're still pretty high on my suspect list.'

'Oh come on, what would I have to gain from making Joey fall for someone else?'

'The same thing you had to gain from it last time,' he lowered his head in an amused manner.

'I was possessed by evil last time, or had you forgotten. Besides, I'm cleansed and redeemed now, so it's not me okay?'

'You know I was joking, right?' SK licked his lips again as he cocked an eyebrow at him.

'Yeah, well if you weren't so bad at telling jokes...'

'Wow Jay, moody much?'

'Whatever, can we please just get on with the investigation now?'

'Sure, that's exactly what I was going to suggest.'

* * *

Kaiba knelt down next to Tristan's still unconscious body and checked for a pulse.

'Well at least you're still alive,' he sighed in relief as he tried to figure out what to do next.

'Shame it won't be for much longer,' a dark voice sounded from behind him, making every hair stand up on the back of Kaiba's neck.

'Who are you?' Kaiba leapt to his feet and spun round to face the figure hidden in the room's creeping shadows.

'Aw Kaiba, I'm offended you don't recognise me.'

As the figure spoke, he shifted the weapon he was holding in his hands. The motion was slow and deliberate enough to allow light to flash off of it and the sight of it made Kaiba feel as though all the air had just left the room.

'The Elemental Axe,' his eyes glanced towards the door, 'but... how?'

'You know for such a powerful weapon, you left it curiously unguarded,' the figure chuckled. 'No traps, no security, no daily checks to make sure it's still in place, hell not even a guard dog. It's almost as though you wanted someone to come in and take it. Then again, I guess it's not as though a whole lot of people even knew the weapon was here, right?'

Kaiba gritted his teeth as his throat emitted a growl-like noise.

'Oh, look at you,' the figure taunted before Kaiba had the chance to say anything, 'you're already cowering in fear and I haven't even done anything yet.'

'What do you want?'

'Right now Kaiba, the better question is, what _don't_ I want,' he laughed. 'Power, control, money, the heavens, the hells, the multiverse. I want it all. I'll take it all. And I'm going to have so much fun doing it,' he pointed the Axe towards the unconscious form of his friend.

'I won't let you hurt him,' Kaiba pulled himself into a protective stance between the shadowy figure and Tristan.

'You say that as if you have a choice,' the figure's voice filled with amusement. 'Besides, it looks like someone already beat me to it; all I have to do is finish him off.'

'I won't let you.'

'Oh Kaiba, again you say that as though you have a choice. You're completely powerless and I have the most powerful weapon ever created in my hands; there's nothing you can do to stop me.'

'I don't care who you are or how powerful you think that little toy makes you, I will _not_ let you hurt him.'

'Oh how sweet,' the figure chuckled, 'the Pure wants to protect her Win. I mean, that is what's going on here, right? You only want to protect him for her sake, because you only tolerate him for her sake, isn't that right?'

'You're wrong, I'm protecting him because he's my friend,' Kaiba glared, 'and I will not let you or anyone hurt him.'

'You're a right little fighter, aren't you? I like that, this little warm up wouldn't be anywhere near as much fun if you weren't.'

'Warm up?' Kaiba curled his lips in disgust. 'Who the hell do you think you're calling a warm up?'

'Please, without any powers you couldn't be anything else. Now the First... the First will be the real challenge here. The main event, if you like. You know I've always wanted to see just how well she would fair without her sisters by her side.'

'First of all, what makes you so sure you can take me out?' Kaiba balled his hands into fists. 'And secondly, aren't you forgetting about the Face of Friendship?'

'The Passive Mistress doesn't concern me.'

'I wouldn't underestimate her if I were you.'

'Oh Kaiba, I'm not underestimating her,' the figure stepped forward. 'Haven't you worked it out yet, I am her.'

'Yugi,' Kaiba's jaw fell open, 'but... how...?'

'What's the matter Kaiba? Don't tell me you didn't think I was capable of something like this? Now who's underestimating me?'

'No... no I don't understand, it can't be you,' Kaiba shook his head. 'This... this isn't happening.'

'Oh stop being so overdramatic,' Yugi rolled his eyes, 'don't you think I've had more than enough shock-horror from that pathetic Khine of mine. On and on and on about how _this isn't you Yugi, surely you have to know what you're doing is wrong Yugi, you have to stop this Yugi_. It was boring when he did it and it will be boring when you do it. Now how about you stand there like a nice little target for me.'

Within milliseconds of Yugi's words a beam of multicoloured light shot out of the Axe towards Kaiba. Instinctively Kaiba used one hand to cover his head and lifted his other arm up towards Yugi as he braced for impact. An impact which never came despite the loud crashing noise which followed. Glancing up, Kaiba saw Yugi getting to his feet having somehow collided with the wall behind him.

'What the hell?' Kaiba blinked at him, before noticing the way his raised arm was glowing.

For a few long confused seconds Kaiba found himself staring at the white aura circling his arm. A million questions moved through his head, but before he could answer a single one of them Yugi was back on his feet and ready to fire again. This time Kaiba ducked to avoid the attack, using the brief interval between shots to scoop Tristan up into his arms and move as quickly out of the room as possible. Once in the hallway every instinct in his body told him to go to Mokuba's room. Whatever higher being or god had given him some of his power back, Kaiba was going to show his gratitude by protecting the two people he cared about no matter what.

Somehow he managed to make it up the stairs and onto the first landing before Yugi appeared in front of him. Kaiba came to an immediate halt. His eyes made a sweeping glance of his surroundings as he tried his best to quickly assess all his options.

'You've been keeping yet more secrets from us Kaiba,' Yugi's voice came out as little more than a hiss. 'Tell me, who did it? Who gave you your powers back? Was it that brat brother of yours? Or Catilin? Or maybe even Mai. Somehow I doubt it was the First and there's no way you could have gotten them back on your own. So tell me, who was it so I can have the pleasure of killing them next.'

'I don't know what you're talking about,' Kaiba kept his voice as level as possible.

'Oh Kaiba,' Yugi wagged a finger at him, 'don't you know it's not nice to lie. Come on, unburden your soul a little, tell me who gave you your powers back.'

'I don't know how I got my powers back,' Kaiba remained firm, 'but if I had to guess, I'd say there's still some good left in you. No, in fact I'm pretty certain of it. Who else except your good side would give me my powers back right when I need them?'

'Good side, bad side, you're talking like I have a split personality here,' Yugi rolled his eyes. 'There are no sides, there is only me and I would never give you back your powers. Never in a million years. Besides, why would this so called _good side_ of mine save you and not Téa?'

'What?' Kaiba took a step back. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

'You know she makes for very good target practice,' Yugi lowered his voice as though this was some amusing titbit, 'you should try it sometime.'

'You've got to be kidding me,' Kaiba felt sick, 'you... you didn't.'

'What can I say, I always wanted to have my way with her,' he laughed, 'I just never thought it would be so much fun.'

'You fiend, how could you, she was your friend.'

'One little friend and suddenly you're the expert?' Yugi's face filled with a look beyond amusement. 'Aren't you the one who's spent years telling your own brother _friendship is for losers_? Aren't you the one who _doesn't have time for friends_? Has the Pure's feelings for her Win really had so much of an influence on you? Or is it more than that,' he took a step towards him. 'Do you genuinely care about that fool in your arms or do you just like having an obedient lapdog around?'

'I wish you could hear yourself right now Yugi,' Kaiba took another step away from him, 'I wish you could hear how little like yourself you sound. It doesn't matter who I am or what I think about friendship; what matters is what you think about it. Friendship is important to you, so for you to purposely hurt a friend is unthinkable. Think about what you're doing here Yugi, I know the real you would agree with me.'

'This is the real me,' Yugi aimed the Axe at him.

'No it isn't and you know it isn't. Yugi, please...'

'Enough talk,' Yugi cut him off. 'Just do me a favour and die.'


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

The guy had appeared a short while before and the dusty blonde had been filtering in and out all morning, but the ash blonde hadn't appeared once. There was something about it which made Joey's heart feel strangely heavy. Several times he thought about getting up and looking for her, but every single time he ended up talking himself into staying in place. On the fourth or fifth time of this mental back and forth he realised it wasn't so much he didn't want to get up and look for her, it was that he couldn't. In a way he didn't completely understand, he'd become their prisoner.

Joey found himself studying the guy and the dusty blonde as they silently set up the Huntay. There was something so innocent and child-like about them, yet at the same time he knew the gears in their minds were tuned to a higher intelligence. He could also get a good idea about their motives from what he'd seen of them both now and the night before. They weren't keeping Joey here out of malice or ill intent. They needed him for something and their inability to communicate made it impossible for them to explain why.

Without warning an alarmed look flashed across the guy's face. He shot a look in the dusty blonde's direction and she simply nodded back at him. With that he vanished, leaving her on her own to finish setting up the Huntay. Once she'd finished she moved herself back towards the pedestal in order to admire her work.

'You know you're going to need to speak in order to activate that thing, right?'

She nodded, before pointing at him.

'You also know you're going to need to tell me what it is you want me to do at some point, right?' Joey rested his head back against the tree behind him. 'I have no problem with helping you out, but I can't do anything if I don't know what it is you want me to do.'

The dusty blonde tilted her head to one side as a thoughtful expression appeared on her face.

'Is there anything you can do to help me understand you?'

The girl hesitated for a moment, before nodding.

'Okay, good, I'd like to be able to understand you. I want to help.'

The dusty blonde nodded again, more enthusiastically this time, before disappearing and leaving Joey on his own.

'Uh...' he blinked and stared at the spot she'd formally occupied, 'was it something I said?'

* * *

Kaiba had managed to dodge several attacks as he looked for somewhere safe to put Tristan down in order to defend them both properly. Unfortunately he was now backed into a corner and there didn't seem to be any way for him to get out of the situation without one or both of them getting hurt. Gritting his teeth, he lowered his head and closed his eyes, praying that somehow the magic in his arm would erect some kind of shield around them to protect them before the attack connected. For a few long moments he just stood there holding his breath waiting. And then there was... nothing. No pain. No impact. Just nothing.

His eyes lifted towards where he knew Yugi was standing. Stood between him and his attacker was the youth. Not sure quite what to feel, Kaiba glanced past the youth towards Yugi. It was clear he was now completely paralysed. After a few long seconds Yugi's body began to move like some badly wound up toy, lowering the Axe to the ground and stepping away from it. Once Yugi was clear of the Axe, the youth turned towards Kaiba. There was something about his waxy smile and the glint in his visible eye which showed some kind of pride over his heroism. There was still something creepy and weird about him, but at the same time...

'Thanks,' Kaiba's voice was low.

The youth seemed genuinely pleased by the gratitude. He then gave a simple nod, before making his way towards Yugi. Once he reached Yugi, he placed a hand on his shoulder before lifting his single visible eye towards Kaiba. There was something wistfully lingering about the look on his face, but before Kaiba had the chance to get annoyed about it, the youth and Yugi disappeared.

'Well at least one good thing came out of that freak's obsession,' Kaiba gave a strange sigh of relief, before turning his attention towards his companion. 'You'd better wake up soon Tristan, because I'm really not sure how much more of this I can take.'

* * *

Duke had spent most of the morning lazing around in bed. It wasn't so much a case of being tired; he'd just not had any reason to get up until now. He'd literally only just finished getting dressed when the girl appeared before him. She had tatty, waist length dusty blonde hair, some of which completely covered the left hand side of her face. Her visible brown eye was bright and curious and glinted at him in a way which was almost hypnotic. The smile on her face had a fixed, waxy feel to it, but despite this it was clear in her own way this girl was beautiful.

She took a few steps towards him, causing her long black dress to rustle neatly around him. There was something about her movements which were light, playful and almost dance like. And there was something about her which made Duke's heart beat hard in his chest.

'Hi,' Duke broke the silence, 'um... who are you?'

The blonde made no reply. Instead she titled her head slightly and continued to stare at him with that same waxy smile fixed across her face. He was about to repeat his question, when he felt something weird shiver through his brain. The sensation was so real and so sudden it caused him to gasp. His alarm caused the girl to take a step back and the sensation subsided.

'What was that?' He breathed.

Again the girl didn't reply. She tilted her head the other way and took a step back towards him. The strange shivering feeling returned stronger than before; at once invasive and yet strangely pleasurable. The closest thing he could describe to how it felt was like someone lightly running their fingers through his brain. He closed his eyes and allowed the sensation to wash over him. An eternity slowly melted away around them as he became more and more aware of the fact the sensation in his head was manipulating him mind somehow. But the longer it went on the less it bothered him. He liked the sensation; the way it felt so wrong and yet so right at the same time. It didn't matter if she was just using it to control him. Hell it wouldn't even matter if she was trying to kill him so long as it felt like this.

'Who are you?' The words came out of his mouth in a low murmur.

For a few long moments there was silence, then, finally, a voice answered him.

'I am Mind.'

* * *

On her own once again, Mai gave a heavy sigh and stared up at the ceiling. She didn't know if the idea of Joey being possessed was any more comforting than the thought of him cheating on her, but at least this way she knew, deep down, he still loved her. Her eyes turned towards her roommate. The curtain was still hiding her face, increasing Mai's curiosity as to her identity. Mai wasn't sure if she should feel bad or not that her curiosity was a welcome distraction. It felt almost mean to be getting anything positive out of someone else's pain.

'I see you're on your own again love, how you feeling?' The sound of the nurse's voice made her jump.

'Completely and utterly exhausted and at the same time really wide awake,' Mai shot her a weak smile.

'Well you should try getting some rest; even if you don't sleep, maybe half an hour with your eyes shut'll do you some good.'

'You know I'd rest a little better if I had some kind of diagnosis. I haven't seen a doctor yet today and it's getting me a little bit worried.'

'I wouldn't worry too much love, if it was anything serious they'd have been in to see you by now. So stop worrying your pretty little head about it and get some sleep.'

'I'll try,' Mai sighed, before turning her attention back to her roommate. 'Do they know who she is yet?'

'Well if they do, nobody's told me,' the nurse shook her head. 'Such a shame too, real pretty little thing she is, well under all the bruising. Still, I'm sure we'll find out soon enough, I mean, her parents must be worried sick about her by now.'

'I know I'm being noisy here, but could you push back the curtain a little more so I can see her face. It's kind of weird sharing a room with someone when I don't know what they look like.'

'Well, since you asked so nicely,' the nurse smirked slightly as she pulled the curtain back further.

The sight of the girl's face was enough to send shivers up and down Mai's spine. Not because of the extensive bruising, but because the face was so familiar to her. With a sudden rush of energy Mai pulled herself out of bed and moved towards her roommate, not wanting to believe it was true, but having to absolutely confirm the identity.

'I know who she is,' Mai's voice sounded as dry as her mouth felt, 'she's a friend of mine. Her name's Téa. Téa Gardener. What happened to her? Who did this to her?'

'Are you sure that's who she is love?' The Nurse stared placed a hand on Mai's arm, forcing her to meet her gaze. 'I mean, are you absolutely sure?'

'Completely.'

'Do you have any contact details for her family?'

'No, but I know people who do.'

'Okay, I'll be right back.'

With that the Nurse left the room. Mai's gaze returned to Téa as she tried to figure out who or what would do something like this to her. Knowing the luck their group tended to have, she doubted this was some chance attack. In fact the likelihood of Téa just being in the wrong place at the wrong time was pretty much inconceivable, especially with everything else going on. Mai felt her heart lurch sickly as she realised _everything else_ specifically meant Joey. But as the realisation hit her, so did a wave of light headed dizziness.

She leant against the side of Téa's bed as dots began to dance in her vision. Somewhere nearby she could hear the concerned voice of the nurse, but her mind wasn't able to focus enough on anything to make out what she was saying. Within seconds everything around her took on a fuzzy grey tint and her focus grew dimmer and dimmer until she was left staring into a swarming fuzzy mess. She barely felt the weight of the Nurse's arm around her, as she gently led her back to her own bed. Nothing seemed real. Nothing seemed right.

The fuzz of grey darkened. Her eyes felt heavy. Sleep came quickly and she was plunged into nothingness.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Anger coursed through his body as he stared at the back of the youth's head. He had no idea who the guy was, but the level of power he exerted was ridicules. To be able to control a Mistress this much and for this long you had to be at least the same level as the Mistress to begin with, if not more powerful. How a being like that could escape the notice of all three of them was beyond him and thinking about it only made him even more annoyed at the situation.

To make matters worse, the casual, unrushed way the youth was walking through Kama Traydon felt like some kind of veiled insult. As if the guy was letting him know he didn't need to rush because there was no way anyone was breaking free of his hold. The way each of his steps rolled and slinked was almost feminine, but at the same time exhumed a strong and masculine confidence. It was a walk which could only be pulled off by someone completely self-assured. Someone who not only knew who they were inside and out, but liked... no _loved_ that person.

It took them almost too long to reach the Sacred Huntay at the centre of Kama Traydon. As the youth led him across the Huntay itself, he couldn't help but notice Joey sat under the shade of one of the trees. Their eyes met and a curious frown spread across Joey's face for a moment before his eyes turned questioningly towards the youth. The youth made no attempt to reply nor give any indication an explanation would follow.

When they reached a spot opposite Joey the youth forced him to sit and watch as he casually made his way towards the centre of the Huntay. As he did music began to play out of nowhere. The youth then began to dance around in a manner somewhere halfway between a little kid and a world class dancer. Inside he found himself willing the youth to distract himself with his little performance, as he attempted to free himself from the binding control. The more he struggled, however, the tighter the binding which held him in place.

As he continued to struggle, a young woman with a bob of ash blonde hair in an outfit just as revealing as the one the youth was wearing appeared. She made a beeline towards Joey, draping herself over him and kissing him several times. Joey was clearly enjoying the attention she was giving him, which made him smirk to watch; just what would Mai think if she knew about this?

After what felt like an eternity, the ash blonde got up from Joey's lap and joined the youth in his dancing. As they danced he could sense the power they were both exhuming. The feel of it alone let him know exactly why the bind on him had become stronger and not weaker in the past few minutes. The music, the dancing, it created energy for them. It made them stronger, but that didn't mean they were strong enough.

If they were strong enough they would have had all three of the Mistresses captured by now. It wasn't as though the youth hadn't had the opportunity or the strength to take Kaiba when he'd taken him, so why hadn't he? Just what were these strange creatures planning anyway? Well whatever it was they weren't going to succeed, he would make sure of that. After all, he had his own plans to carry out and nothing and nobody was going to stop him.

* * *

Kaiba lowered Tristan onto the bed in his room, before turning his attention towards his still glowing arm. For a few minutes Kaiba tried to figure out exactly what he could do with his newly released powers, only to find it wasn't a whole lot. Apparently whoever or whatever unlocked his arm had done so with the sole intent of giving him some kind of protection. But Protection against what exactly? Yugi? A weird feeling shifted through Kaiba's stomach; it was hard to believe anyone would think Yugi capable of hurting anyone, but since it had happened...

Kaiba shook the thoughts from his head and tried to figure out who or what had given him access to some of the Pure's powers. For half a second the face of the youth flashed through his mind, causing him to grit his teeth hard. As much as he hated to admit it, the arm which was glowing was the same one the youth had focused on earlier. But that didn't mean... did it?

'I don't know if I should be grateful or looking to file a restraining order,' he shook his head as he turned his attention towards the still unconscious Tristan. 'Well whatever the case it's pretty clear this place isn't safe anymore.'

He gave a heavy sigh as a deep feeling of exhaustion moved through him. He didn't have the energy to be playing hide and seek with who knew how many potential threats. And it wasn't just his own safety he was responsible for... His eyes shifted towards the door as his mind slowly formulated a plan. The first thing he needed to do was get to Mokuba and then... Well, the preferable option was to get all three of them as far away from the mansion as possible.

Kaiba lifted Tristan back up from the bed and made his way out of the room. For some reason his movements were starting to feel awkward and heavy, as though the combination of stress and sleep deprivation was finally starting to get to him. When he reached Mokuba's room he was unsurprised to find his brother drawing yet another one of his grotesque doodles on the wall in the far right corner of the room.

'What do you want now?'

'We've got to leave the house,' Kaiba lowered Tristan onto the bed for a moment, but only because he was too exhausted to continue holding him.

'Why?'

'It's not safe here anymore.'

'Because of me?' Mokuba chuckled for a moment. 'I mean I am the reason you got rid of ninety percent of our household staff, right?'

'No, you're not the threat here Mokuba,' Kaiba gritted his teeth.

'Then what is?'

'It doesn't matter. All that matters is that we get out of here now. All three of us.'

'You don't need me weighing you down, when you've already got Tristan to look after,' Mokuba shook his head. 'You go. I'm staying _right_ here.'

'I'm not leaving without you.'

'Then don't leave. Those are your options.'

'Mokuba, please, be reasonable about this. It's not safe for any of us here.'

'I don't care. I'm staying.'

'Mokuba...'

'I told you I'm staying and that's final. I have to be here Seto, but you don't. So if you want to leave without me then leave, see if I care.'

'Why do you have to make this so difficult,' Kaiba gritted his teeth in defeat. 'Fine then, we'll all stay.'

* * *

At first Duke hadn't realised the voice had come from his own mouth. In fact it took his a long time to really understand what was going on at all. His mind was now in this strangely dreamlike state so lulling and inviting he wasn't sure whether or not he cared how and why he had spoken for her. His eyes lifted with a strange kind of haze to meet with hers, she was watching him intensely as if to make sure he was okay. A slight smile pulled at his lips to reassure her he was fine, if a little out of it.

A strange laugh rippled its way out of him, make him feel like some made for TV adaption of a drunken or high teenager before the negative effects kicked in. In response to this his body tittered its way towards her, every step making his head swim and swarm with a slushy kind of fascination. He even found himself lifting up his hands to study them, grinning madly to himself at the nonsensical thoughts stirring inside his own head.

He came to a stop right in front of her and she placed a hand on his cheek, forcing his attention towards her. Automatically he leant in to kiss her. The movement was as sloppy and uncoordinated as the kiss, but he didn't really care. Who needed common sense, rationality and inhibitions when you felt like this? It was a beautiful, glorious, freeing sensation and he never, ever wanted it to go away. After a few minutes he pulled back from her and she gently stroked some of the hair out of his eyes.

'Thank you,' he knew the words were coming out of his own mouth, but he felt as though someone else were saying them, 'you have no idea how grateful I am for your help and I promise your kindness will be return.'

'I need no reward,' again the voice came out of his own mouth, but felt much more solid and real than the other one.

'That is not what your Id is telling me,' as he spoke she tilted her head to one side, 'I know what your Id desires and I promise you it shall be yours.'

* * *

'I thought you said Dee was the one who knew everything,' SK's tongue skated across his lips, 'so why are we going to see Catilin?'

'Dee might have her ear to the ground, but Catilin's a Calicaccu, she knows about things in a way no one else does.'

'And you think she might know something about this?' SK cocked an eyebrow at him.

'Right now we don't have a whole lot to go on,' Jay pulled a face, 'Dee might have useful information for us, but unless we have a basis for interpreting that information...'

'Since when was Catilin a basis for interpreting anything?' SK rolled his eyes.

'Oh come on SK, she understands things in a way no one else does. That's what makes her such a great Calicaccu. Unfortunately great Calicaccus are rarely sane people; it's just the price they have to pay for the purity of their gift. If you ever bothered to read the Guardian Handbook you might actually know that.'

'For someone with such a pure gift she's been evil more than enough times,' SK licked his lips again, 'it's hard to trust someone after they've been evil.'

'Does that include me?' Jay came to a stop just as they entered the great hall of the Northern Palace.

'Doesn't look like there's anyone in here,' SK glanced around, 'are you sure she's at home?'

'I can sense her nearby,' Jay folded his arms, 'but you didn't answer my question. Do you think I can't be trusted just because I've been evil?'

'Sometimes.'

'Only sometimes?'

'Look Jay, I want to believe you're one of the good guys now, but sometimes you do things which are questionable,' SK's tongue skated across his lips again. 'Knowing your past it's hard to trust you completely and you're just going to have to accept that fact.'

'_Fantastic_,' Jay stretched out every possible inch of sarcasm in the word, 'and just when I thought we were starting to get on really well.'

'We are getting on well Jay, but... that's just how I feel, okay?'

'Whatever, come on we need to keep looking for Catilin.'

'Any idea where she might be?'

'Her room maybe,' Jay shrugged, 'Silkoneons with cat Sintoys are known for their excessive sleeping habits and Cat's no exception.'


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Kaiba paced back and forth across the floor in Mokuba's room, trying to work out just how much worse this situation could get. Between Tristan's continuing state of unconsciousness, Mokuba's insanity and whatever the hell was going on with Yugi, Kaiba felt as though he was starting to lose his own mind. On top of everything else he was too exhausted to even attempt to be rational about this situation. Crazy thoughts somewhere halfway between mildly disturbing and full on nightmarish began swirling through his mind; extreme paranoia wasn't slow in following.

At that moment in time Kaiba knew he had a shield to defend himself and the others. But a good defence was nothing if you had no way of striking back at your attackers. He needed some kind of weapon or something he could use to show whoever came for him next he meant business. As these thoughts raced through his head Kaiba remembered the Elemental Axe lying in the hallway where it had been discarded. The thought made him nervous. The Axe was designed for someone with power to use; in fact it had been design with only one person with power in mind, Crovell. The chances of it doing what Kaiba wanted it to do magically was slim, but it was still a weapon; it could still do some damage on a non-magical level and at that moment in time having it with him felt like a really good idea.

Taking a deep breath in, Kaiba made his way out into the hallway. He felt like a small animal darting for cover, just praying there were no predators around watching him as he made his way towards the weapon. Once he reached it he spent a long couple of minutes just staring at it, half afraid of what it might do to him. It was only when he remembered Mokuba and Tristan were currently defenceless that he forced himself to bend down and pick the weapon up. The second he did the Axe reacted to the aura swirling around his right arm. His gut reaction was to drop it, but something in him kept his hand steady and his grip firm.

Kaiba sucked another deep breath in, before turning and making his way back towards Mokuba's room. He barely got halfway there when the glow from his arm and the Axe increased. As it did a strange tingling moved up through his arm and into the rest of the body, causing his tired mind to freeze with fear. Every inch of his body felt rigid and tense as the glow turned into a blinding light. The light was so intense Kaiba felt sure he was about to pass out, but still he couldn't look away from it. Somewhere in his tired brain he understood what was happening to him and that feeling was enough to get him through.

* * *

'Cat,' Jay gently shook her, 'Catilin. Come on, wake up, we kinda need your help. Cat? Cat, I know you can hear me. Wake up,' his voice became edged with concern. 'Cat? Catilin?'

'And just when I didn't think it was possible for things to get any worse,' SK's tongue skated across his lips.

'What... what do you mean?' Jay's eyes turned towards him.

'I mean, I don't think she's going wake up.'

'You mean you think there's something wrong with her?'

'To put it simply, yes.'

'But…?' Jay's eyes were wide as he stared back down at her. 'But she has to wake up. She has to.'

'Why?'

'Because... because she's everything to me,' Jay pulled her into his arms, 'she has to be alright. She has too.'

'Okay Jay you're being ever so slightly creepy right now,' SK squirmed with a strange level of discomfort. 'I know you're upset, but...'

'But what, you have no idea how hard this is for me,' he buried his head into Catilin's neck. 'What's wrong with her SK, why won't she wake up?'

'Way to make it even more creepy,' SK kept his voice low as he rolled his eyes. 'Look I'm not sure what's wrong with her, but I'm kind of hoping it has nothing to do with the blonde.'

'Yeah, because right before absconding with Joey, our mystery blonde came here to put some kind of sleeping beauty spell on Cat,' Jay gave an almost hysterical sounding laugh. 'Why... why would anyone do that?'

'Well you said yourself Calicaccus know things other people don't. Maybe Catilin knows something about the blonde and this was the only way to keep her quiet,' SK licked his lips again. 'But...'

'But?'

'Well... as nice as theory as that is, it's not exactly what I was getting at.'

'Then what are you getting at?' Jay's eyes met with his.

'Look, don't get me wrong here, I'm not accusing Catilin of any wrong doing, but...' his tongue made another pass across his lips, 'isn't it at least possible that Catilin is controlling the blonde somehow?'

'Why would you say something like that?' Jay jumped on the defensive. 'Just because she's unconscious doesn't mean she's done or is doing anything wrong. How are you even drawing this connection to begin with? It doesn't make sense. You know it doesn't make sense, right?'

'Hey, cool it Jay, I told you not to get the wrong idea. I'm just asking if it's possible, I'm not accusing anyone of anything.'

'You're just looking for a way to turn the three of us into the bad guys again, aren't you?' Jay glared at him.

'No, that's not what I'm doing,' SK couldn't quite believe how juvenile he was being. 'Jay are you okay?'

'Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be okay?'

'Well... you're acting like more of a child than usual.'

'I am a child.'

'No Jay, you're an adult stuck in a teenager's body, there's a huge difference there.'

'_You're an adult stuck in a teenager's body, there's a huge difference there,_' Jay whined in imitation.

'Oh grow up.'

'Can't, I'm dead, remember,' Jay rolled his eyes. 'And why the hell do you always act like I'm inferiorto you? I've been dead for a hell of a lot longer than you so I should be the one in control.'

'Okay, for a start I don't treat you like you're inferior, or if I do its not deliberate. Secondly the Mistresses were the ones who said I was in charge, so if you have an issue with it you should take it up with them.'

'Oh look at the adult being all adult,' there was something really nasty about Jay's tone.

'Okay Jay now you're just being deliberately childish.'

'I am a child, a perpetual sixteen year old, that gives me the right to act anyway I want.'

'Jay...'

'Sorry,' Jay's tone was sulky and sharp, 'I guess I just don't like seeing Cat in pain, that's all. You should have been more understanding.'

'I... err... sorry,' SK's tongue skated across his lips once more as he tried to figure out what had just happened.

'It's okay SK, just don't do it again.'

* * *

It had started off as an almost unnoticeable feeling in the pit of her stomach. As the day had worn on the feeling had just become stronger and stronger. Now she was resting her arms on Crovell's crib trying to figure out why she was feeling so angry. She knew it had something to do with Joey; after all, he still wasn't back yet. But that didn't feel like enough of an explanation, because she was the one giving him the benefit of the doubt. Or at least she was...

'I guess I'm just disappointed in you,' she sighed, 'I know you're probably being controlled right now, but... I guess I thought you were stronger than that.'

Crovell began to make distressed noises as he slumbered, but she ignored him.

'But you're not are you. You're just like all men. Weak. Pathetic. Easily led. It doesn't matter that you're supposed to take the First's feelings into consideration too, does it? Because you're a man and you don't think with your heart or your head. You think with your hormones. You think with your...'

Crovell began to cry as though he didn't want her to finish her sentence. There was something strangely harsh about the way his cries moved through her body; it was as though it was trying to snap her out of something. Knowing how smart and in tune with the world her little baby was, she leant down and scooped him up out of the cot.

'There, there my baby,' she whispered as she jiggled him back and forth, 'Mummy's not angry at you my little one. Hush, hush don't cry. Mummy's not angry at you, promise.'


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

'So... what do we do know,' SK's tongue skated across his lips as he tried to move quickly past the weirdness of the previous couple of minutes.

'I'm not sure,' Jay kissed the top of Catilin's head, before lowering her back down and sliding off the bed. 'We could try talking to Dee, I guess or...'

He stopped mid sentence as his gaze focused in on something on the bed. For a few long moments there was silence and SK found himself starting to get more than a little concerned about the guy. After all this was the third strange occurrence with him that day. He was just about to say something to break the tension when Jay reached over and picked something up from the bed.

'There was a robbery at Nayta's store a couple of days ago,' he read from the sheet of paper he was now holding. 'Apparently only two items were taken; an engagement ring and a box of Elemental stones.'

'So?'

'So, the descriptions of one of the thieves matches that of our mystery blonde,' Jay laughed, 'well at least we know now how she managed to trap Joey; it would take a spell of some magnitude and a Huntay to pull it off,' his eyes lifted to meet with SK's. 'We can use this information to find them.'

'How?'

'By checking all of the active Huntays from the last few days. Since our criminals weren't smart enough to cover their faces whilst stealing from Nayta, I'm guessing they're also not smart enough to cover their magical signatures and Huntays give off one hell of a signature.'

'You make it sound like tracking them down now is going to be simple; there could have been a lot of Huntays used in the last few days.'

'Yes, but it's a good place to start, don't you think?'

'Maybe.'

'Don't tell me you're disappointed at how easily both Catilin and I have been ruled out as your number one suspects,' Jay rolled his eyes. 'I know you can be obsessive, but this is getting more than a little ridicules now.'

'I'm not... I mean... I'm just not sure how much of a lead this really is. I mean, how do you go about tracking Huntays?'

'And yet somehow you've still maintained the title of Helper,' Jay shook his head. 'Seriously, do a little bit of research into your own job sometime; it might help you out one day.'

'Give me a break, would you, it's a lot of information to take in and I've not been doing this job for a year yet. I never got the opportunity to learn anything before becoming a Guardian and then I jumped straight into being the Helper; I'm doing the best I can here.'

'Whatever,' Jay rolled his eyes, 'come on, it's time for a lesson in Huntay tracking.'

* * *

When the light cleared Kaiba found himself stood at the entrance to Kama Traydon. The Axe and his arm were no longer glowing as if to let Kaiba know there was no way he was getting home the same way he'd arrived. A growl of tired and agitated frustration made its way out of him; this wasn't what he wanted or needed right now. With little else he could do, Kaiba began making his way into Kama Traydon. With every step the weary paranoia washing over him got stronger and stronger; what if the youth or Yugi had brought him here just to get him out of the way so that he could get to Tristan and Mokuba? Or worse, what if the youth _and_ Yugi were working together on this? It didn't bare thinking about, but no matter how many times he tried to suppress the thoughts they kept rising tauntingly in his mind.

The sound of music coming from the clearing around the Sacred Huntay brought him to a momentary stop. He then took a deep breath in, did his best to squash his paranoid inklings and forced himself into a more confident attitude. The last thing he wanted was for other people to see him unhinged.

His heart skipped a beat when he entered the clearing. The youth was dancing like some kind of maniac in the centre, whilst Yugi sat motionlessly to one side; this wasn't exactly what he wanted to see. Worse still it didn't take long for the youth to spot him. He immediately stopped dancing in order to fix his visible eye on Kaiba, whilst the waxier than a waxwork figure smile stretched further across his face. In a rolling movement the youth pointed towards the Axe.

'Do you really think I'm stupid enough to just hand it over to you?' Kaiba tightened his grip on the weapon. 'Your little hero act before didn't impress me that much.'

'Do you always have to be so paranoid rich boy; they're not going to hurt you.'

The voice was unmistakable and as Kaiba turned towards the source of it he wasn't sure if he was annoyed or amused by what he found. Joey was sat under a tree almost directly opposite Yugi; with the ash blonde girl Kaiba had seen a couple of nights before strewn across his lap.

'I wouldn't be so sure about that,' Kaiba gritted his teeth as his uncertain emotions quickly rolled into irritation, 'Tristan's unconscious because of that maniac.'

'You saw him attack Tristan?' Joey frowned at him.

'No, but he was standing over Tristan when I found him, so I'd say the evidence pretty much speaks for itself.'

'Paranoid much,' Joey cocked an eyebrow, 'all you have is circumstantial evidence. I've been around these guys for a while now and they've not done anything to me, so I really don't believe they're evil.'

'Just like you don't believe in monogamy right now,' Kaiba glared at him, 'or weren't you and Mai really the soul mates you're always claiming to be.'

'I... err...'

'With morals as loose as that how do you expect me to respect your opinion?'

As Kaiba was speaking, he felt his body go numb. Almost as soon as he realised what the paralysing feeling was, he was forced to lower the Axe to the ground. The youth slinked over to him, picked the weapon up and carried it towards the pedestal. Once there he placed it neatly on top and gave a satisfied nod in Kaiba's direction.

'I'm getting really tired of that,' Kaiba's lip curled as the paralysing hold lifted.

The youth spent a few minutes rolling his body in a series of rhythmic stretches as his visible eye curiously studied Kaiba. Once he was done with the stretches he slinked his way back across the Huntay.

'Stay away from me,' Kaiba backed away as his tired brain jumped to snappy assumptions.

The youth stopped in his tracks and the waxy smile dropped from his face. The expression which replaced it was just as mask like as the other one, only this time it was as though the guy were trying to imitate a puppy dog.

'Aww, I think he likes you,' Joey laughed.

'Shut up,' Kaiba's voice was harsher and more irritated than he meant it to be.

'Wait... he does like you, doesn't he?'

'Shut up Wheeler.'

'Is that why you don't trust him; because he has a little crush on you?'

'I thought I told you to shut up,' Kaiba balled his hands into fists. 'Shut up now or I swear I'll hurt you.'

'Wow, don't you think you're overreacting a little here?' Joey shook his head.

'I don't think it's possible to overreact in this situation,' Kaiba tried to sound calmer than he felt, 'you've no idea what that thing has put me through the last few days.'

'You shouldn't call him a thing Kaiba, he's a person you know,' Joey pulled a face. 'Just a very silent person.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'It means I don't think they're able to talk.'

'You're right, we can't,' Duke, accompanied by the dusty blonde, appeared out of nowhere in the centre of the Huntay.

'And just what's that supposed to mean?' Kaiba turned his attention towards them.

'We don't have voices,' Duke's voice was strangely wistful, 'we are Voices, therefore we can't talk.'

'Huh?' Kaiba's brain was too tired to comprehend what he was being told.

'We are Voices.' Duke repeated.

'Wait, do you mean Voices as in the Etean definition of the word?' Joey studied the dusty blonde.

'Yes,' as Duke said the word, the dusty blonde nodded, 'we are each the physical representations of a different Human Element.'

'Hold on a minute,' Kaiba tried to get his tired brain to focus, 'are you telling us your all parts of different people or different parts of the same person.'

'Both,' the word was strangely solid, 'we are Voices and we are Ids.'

'Wait, what?'

'We are Voices and we are Ids,' Duke repeated, 'so we are both.'

'I don't...' Kaiba shook his head. 'Whatever, just tell me something, why has he,' he pointed towards the youth, 'been stalking me?'

'Body simply wanted to protect you.'

'Body...?' Joey frowned. 'Is that his name?'

'He is Body, I am Mind and she is Heart.'

'I don't care who he is,' Kaiba felt more than mildly irritated, 'what I want to know is why he's been stalking me and why he attack Tristan.'

'Body hasn't hurt anybody.'

'See,' Joey gloated, 'I told you they were no threat.'

'No threat?' Kaiba snorted. 'One's holding Yugi captive and another is controlling Duke's mind and you're saying they're no threat.'

'Would you rather Body hadn't stopped Yugi?' Duke spoke as Mind took a step towards him.

'So one maniac stops another, am I really supposed to be grateful for that?' Kaiba glared at her. 'You can tell me he's innocent all you want, as far as I'm concerned he's still the reason Tristan's unconscious and nothing you can say will convince me otherwise.'

'Maybe there is nothing we can say to convince you, but perhaps there is something we can show you.'

As Duke spoke, Mind nodded towards Body. He nodded back before taking a few steps closer to Kaiba.

'I thought I told you to stay away from me.'

Body looked hurt and sent a look in Mind's direction. She nodded again and he took another step forward, before pulling back the hair from the left side of his face.

'No, this isn't possible,' Kaiba took a step back, 'this... this can't be.'


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

He could feel the monster starting to recede. With every nightmare he managed to get out of his head, he could feel the monster move further and further back into his subconscious. And more; he could feel a cage starting to close in around the monster. He was winning. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath in and tried to focus. Somewhere just beyond his reach he could almost feel the memories of the conversation start to rise, replacing the monster.

An image began to swell in his head. Nightmares and fear pushed to the surface faster than anything else. He wanted to scream. He needed to scream. But he didn't. He couldn't. If he screamed now, he would be letting the monster win. He couldn't let the monster win. Not when he was so close to caging it forever.

He opened his eyes again and looked around for a clear surface. Some small space he could draw his latest nightmare onto. He had to get it out of his head now. If he got it out of his head now maybe he could win this. If he got it out of his head now maybe he could cage the monster and reach the information he needed. He had to get it out of his head. He had to win. He had to. One small space. One little bit of space. He had to draw. He needed to draw. He had to get the nightmare out.

* * *

Covo had been quietly watching Ahna for quite some time. There was something about the way she was acting which felt a little off. He didn't know what it was exactly, but it had him worried and, from the way Crovell wouldn't stop crying, he got the impression he wasn't the only one.

'Can I try?' Covo held his arms out towards her.

'I'm more than capable of comforting my own son thank you,' Ahna's voice was so tight it was almost jarring to hear.

'I know, but sometimes a change of hands works.'

'I doubt this is one of those times Covo.'

'Please,' a slightly forced smile pulled across his face, 'at least let me try.'

'Fine,' she glared at him as she handed her baby over, 'see if you can do any better, clearly I'm incapable.'

Almost as soon as he was in Covo's arms, Crovell stopped crying.

'Great,' she turned angrily from him, 'well that's just perfect. Prove what a bad mother I am Covo.'

'Don't... don't say that,' he stared at her, 'you're a good mother.'

'Good mothers can stop their babies from crying Covo,' she gave an almost violent dismissive flick of her hand, 'and I couldn't even do that.'

* * *

From his position he couldn't see whatever it was about his face Body was showing Kaiba, but the reaction it caused was both amusing and slightly disturbing. Crazy thoughts began circling around his head as he tried to figure out exactly what could have put such a frozen look of fear into Kaiba's eyes.

Almost without warning the look of fear morphed into a look of anger. Kaiba clenched both hands into tight fists, let out a loud frustrated cry of pure rage and launched an attack against Body. The male Voice dodged every single attack effortlessly, leading them through a bizarre dance of aimless violence and near misses. After a strangely short space of time, Kaiba fell onto all fours, gasping for breath. For the first time he was able to see the full extent of the haunting look of exhaustion which dripped off of Kaiba; the hollowness in his cheeks, the paleness of his skin and the dark circles under his eyes were much more noticeable now.

There was a look of concern in Body's visible eye as he stared down at Kaiba. After a few moments he knelt beside him and placed his hands on Kaiba's shoulders.

'Get off me,' Kaiba knocked Body's hands off and pulled himself away.

For a moment Body's face filled with a hurt expression. He shot a look in Mind's direction and she just tilted her head to one side in a kind of sympathetic gesture.

'Make him talk,' Kaiba's voice was quiet as he lifted his head and stared at Mind. 'Make him talk.'

'He has no voice,' Duke spoke as Mind shook her head, 'he cannot.'

'You found a way around it, so surely he can too. Make him talk.'

Body cast Mind a questioning look, to which she simply nodded in reply.

'There is one way,' Duke's voice toned with caution, 'but it's not the clearest form of communication. Body is willing to try, provided that you do not get too frustrated by its awkwardness.'

'Whatever,' Kaiba half turned his head away, 'just so long as he's able to answer my question.'

The sensation began as pressure in his throat, which slowly rose up, forcing words to escape his unwilling lips.

'Body talk.'

Kaiba shot a confused look in his direction, before giving a half laugh and shaking his head.

'Fine, I guess I should have expected that.'

'Body talk,' he found himself repeating.

'Who's face is that?' Kaiba turned his attention back towards the youth.

'Body's face.'

'Don't lie; I know it doesn't belong to you,' his facial features tensed. 'Where did you get it?'

'Body's face.'

'I thought I told you not to lie,' Kaiba clenched his fists again, 'where did you get that face?'

'Body's face.'

'Stop saying that; it's not your face, it can't be. I want to know where you got it from. I want to know how you got it.'

'Body's face.'

'If you say that one more time, I swear I'll kill you.' Kaiba's voice edged with irrational hysteria. 'That is not your face. That is not your face. It cannot belong to you. I want to know how you got it and I want to know now!'

'You know, he might respond better if you weren't shouting at him Kaiba,' Joey sighed and rolled his eyes.

'Shut up.'

'Hey I'm only telling the truth,' he shrugged. 'What's so bad about that guy's face anyway?'

'It doesn't belong to him,' Kaiba gritted his teeth.

'How do you know?'

'Because I know who it does belong to and I want to know how this, this… thing got his hands on it,' Kaiba's body shook with emotion. 'How did you get it? Tell me how you got it.'

'Body's face,' the words once again forced their way out of his mouth.

'It is not yours. Stop saying that it's yours. It doesn't belong to you and I want to know how you got it. Now tell me.'

'Body's face.'

Growling in frustration, Kaiba swiped at the youth again, who simply caught hold of his fist and held it there. A mixture of exhaustion, anger, pain and several other intangible things wrote their way across Kaiba's face.

'It's not yours,' Kaiba's voice trembled as he shook his head, 'it's not yours.'

'Body's face. Seto, Body's face.'

'No it isn't.'

'Yes. Seto, Body's face.'

'It can't be.'

'Yes.'

'No. No it isn't,' Kaiba's voice came out as little more than the whimper of a little boy; as if his own irrational anger had drained what little energy he had left.

'Yes,' as the words were forced out of his mouth, Body nodded. 'Seto, Body's face.'

'It can't be,' Kaiba lowered his head, 'it can't be.'

'Yes. Body's face.'

'How can it be...' his voice was barely audible, 'how can it be... how can it be your face, when it's his face? How can that be possible?'

Body gently stroked stroked some of the hair back from Kaiba's forehead, before running his hand down Kaiba's cheek and resting it under his chin.

'Seto.'

'It's his face. It's his face. How can it be his face?' Kaiba's eyes lifted to meet Body's. 'That face can't be yours. It can't be yours. It can't be, because it's Tristan's.'

For a few minutes there was silence. Then slowly the two word reply rose up through his throat and exploded in desperation from his lips.

'Am Tristan.'


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

'That's a lot of active Huntays,' SK licked his lips as his eyes scanned the map in front of them. 'How the hell are we supposed to find the right one?'

'By process of elimination, obviously.'

'Obviously,' he rolled his eyes, 'and exactly how long is that going to take?'

'Hey, you're working with a Huntay expert here,' Jay grinned, 'this is barely even a challenge.'

'Since when were you a Huntay expert,' SK cocked an eyebrow at him.

'I'm not; I was talking about Octan. He is a Desmitus after all.'

'And that makes him an expert because…?'

'Because the Desmitus are believed to be the children of the gods and the Huntay is the ring of the gods, so the two are kind of connected,' Jay tilted his head to one side. 'There's a more in depth and complicated explanation as to why and Octan did explain it to me once, but... well there are some things which even go over my head.'

'Finally, some sign you were actually once human,' SK's tongue skated across his lips again.

'Are you just going out of your way to insult me on every possible level today?' Jay glared at him. 'Because, as you continuously like to point out, I'm not officially the Helper here, hell I'm not even officially a Guardian right now, so I don't actually have to help you out at all.'

'Fine, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you.'

'Whatever, just sit back and watch an expert at work.'

* * *

He couldn't look at him. He physically couldn't bring himself to look at him as every fibre of his being trembled with a mixture of exhaustion and unfiltered emotions. His hands shook as he buried his face into them desperate to get some kind of control back over himself. This was it. This was his limit. This was the moment which had completely broken him. Because he couldn't... he wouldn't believe this guy was...

'You… you're lying,' his voice was so small even he wasn't certain he'd spoken.

'Am Tristan,' he heard Yugi's voice repeat Body's awkward and childlike statement.

'You can't...' he shook his head, 'I don't believe you. How... how can you be him?'

'Body Id, Tristan Ego.'

'Is that some kinda psychobabble?' Joey sounded curiously confused.

'Our Egos our waking selves,' now it was Duke's turn to speak in Mind's all too calm manner. 'We are Ids. Desires. Basic human instincts. We belong to individuals, but we are also Voices and belong to each other. It is why we have more freedom than our Egos, but more control than most Ids.'

'I... I don't follow.'

A slightly hysterical laugh came out of Kaiba as he forced himself to his feet. Under the circumstances he wasn't completely sure how he felt about what he'd just figured out. A part of him just wanted to ignore it. To bury it and push it away, because acknowledging it would mean admitting Body really was who he was claiming to be and at that moment in time he wasn't sure it was something he could face. But at the same time he was being presented with an opportunity to show Joey up and ever since the Pure had become a part of him, Kaiba just couldn't resist those.

'Please don't tell me they really need to spell this out for you Wheeler,' his voice was as dry and drained as he felt, 'they call themselves Mind, Heart and Body, right? So of course they're all part of each other,' a stuttered half laugh forced its way out of him. 'You're all Win, aren't you?'

'They're all Win?' Joey spoke before anyone else had a chance to reply.

As he spoke Heart moved herself off of Joey's lap and pulled back the hair covering the left side of her face. Kaiba found himself watching Joey's reaction with a mindlessly fascinated curiosity.

'M-Mai,' Joey's eyes bulged, 'but...?'

'And you're Catilin, aren't you?' Kaiba forced his attention towards Mind.

Nodding, she pulled the tatty hair back from the dark side of her own face, revealing the transplanted features of the Silkoneon queen.

'But… but… but how is this possible?' Joey pulled back from Heart. 'I... I don't understand.'

'This is possible thanks to Soul,' as Duke spoke Mind stared down at her own hand. 'He's the only one with the power to release us and the power to put us back again.'

'Soul...' Kaiba allowed the word to roll out of his mouth, 'you mean Mokuba.'

'Yes,' Mind nodded as Duke spoke. 'He was the one who brought us out because he needed us to do something important, but we cannot finish that important task without him. It also means there's nothing to stop us from coming out and, as much as we like having lives of our own, being like this is hurting our Egos. So it is vitally important we complete our task and for that we need Soul.'

'How long has it been since you saw Soul last,' Joey frowned at her.

'Three months,' Mind's gaze lowered and so did Duke's voice. 'At first we could only appear at night whilst our Egos were sleeping, which was fine because at the time there was no rush for us to finish what we were doing and no danger to our Egos whilst we were doing it. But the longer it went on... If we do not complete our task soon then our Egos may never wake again. Please, you have to help us.'

'Help you with what exactly?'

'I told you, we need Soul, but none of us have the ability to summon him.'

'And you think we do?' Kaiba folded his arms.

'You must... you have to... it's the only thing we could think of,' Duke's voice reflected the pleading look on Mind's face. 'Please, you must help Soul break free of his Ego, you have to.'

'Well I guess there's no harm in trying, right?' Joey shot a look in Kaiba's direction as he pulled himself to his feet.

Kaiba found himself staring back at Joey as a scattering of half crazed thoughts ran round his head. If he wasn't so tired... if he wasn't allowing his emotions to get the better of him... if he could think clearly he would know how to answer that question. As it was all he could really do was stare.

'Kaiba...?' Joey took half a step towards him.

'No,' he shook his head, 'no, after everything my brother's been through I don't think doing something like this to him is a good idea. They've already admitted being like this is hurting the others, so why should I put my brother in that kind of danger too.'

'Oh, I don't know, maybe because the others won't wake up again if we don't,' Joey rolled his eyes. 'What's wrong with you?'

'I...'

'Seriously what's wrong with you?' Joey's voice toned with concern. 'I know ghosts with more colour in their cheeks than you have right now. Not to mention the fact you're hardly acting like yourself.'

'I... I'm just tired,' he shook his head again as he stared down at his own hands.

'We can help you with that if you'll let us,' Duke's voice was calm and almost pleasant.

'I... I don't even know if I trust you right now,' Kaiba stared at Mind.

'I promise you we'd never do anything to hurt you or anyone,' Mind's face filled with a sweet but waxy smile as Duke continued to do the talking for her. 'We always put the needs of others before our own, even those yet to be born.'

'Those yet to be born,' Joey leapt on her words, 'wait... does this mean you three had something to do with Mai's nightmare the other night?'

'The child's Id was putting too much of a strain on Heart,' Mind turned her attention towards Joey, 'it was putting them both at risk. We had to do something. It was drastic, yes, but it needed to be done.'

'What needed to be done?' Joey's head moved slowly from side to side. 'Mind, just what the hell did you do to my child?'


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

SK was starting to feel unbearably bored. Jay, or rather Octan, had been sat in silent meditation for what felt like an age. Half idiotic thoughts began to move through his head; thoughts which included poking Octan with a stick just to make sure he was still alive. An amused half laugh rolled out of him, _alive_ wasn't exactly the right word to use, but he didn't care; it was his stupid little joke and one a conscious Jay would definitely appreciate.

'You have a weird laugh, has anyone ever told you that?' Octan blinked slowly, before rolling his shoulders back in an exaggerated stretch.

'A few people,' he shrugged, 'so did you have any luck?'

'You guys gave me a lot of Huntays to go through.'

'I know,' SK's tongue skated across his lips, 'so have you found the one we're after?'

'You didn't list it,' Octan met SK's gaze and held it in that intense way only he could.

'What do you mean?'

'I mean, you only listed active Huntays; you didn't allow for the option the stones hadn't been used yet.'

'Well that's because we figured they had been,' SK licked his lips again.

'_Really_,' Octan rolled his eyes. 'I knew why you'd only listed active ones, that's not the issue here.'

'I see. So does that mean you haven't found it yet?'

'I never said that.'

'But…?'

'I said you didn't list the Huntay you were looking for; I never said I didn't find it.'

'What do you mean?'

'Jay might be childish,' Octan shook his head, 'but he picks up on things a hell of a lot faster than you.'

'I was only asking a question.'

'Whatever,' he gave a heavy sigh. 'Look, if you were going to perform some pretty powerful magic, wouldn't you want the most powerful, not to mention most hidden, Huntay you could find?'

'Wait, are you talking about the Sacred Huntay.'

'You're a regular Sherlock Holmes, aren't you?' Octan rolled his eyes again. 'I'm surprised you and Jay didn't figure it out on your own. I mean, come on, it's obvious isn't it? I mean, it's what I would use.'

'You fancy adding yourself to my suspect list then?' SK cocked an eyebrow.

'You know Jay at least has the excuse of being a permanent teenager to explain his childish behaviour, what's yours?' Octan rose to his feet. 'Look, I've given you a starting point here and since somebody's already got it set up, I suggest you stop wasting your time and go check it out.'

* * *

'We did what we needed to in order to protect her and Heart,' Duke's voice was level as Mind calmly folded her arms, 'we relocated her Id.'

'You what?' Joey stared at her.

Heart pulled herself up slightly in order to reveal a still healing scar half hidden by the waistline of her skirt. For a few minutes Joey found himself staring at it with mixed and uncomfortable feelings.

'So Mai was right, you did take her child from her.'

'No,' Duke's voice was calm as Mind shook her head, 'we took Heart's child. It was the Id, not the Ego, that makes it Heart's.'

'Does that really matter right now? You still took a part of my child away from its mother. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but don't Ids develop at the same rate the rest of a child does? Haven't you damaged my child by doing this?'

'No, I told you; we relocated her. Put her somewhere safer. Gave her a stronger host.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' Joey stared at Mind.

'We did nothing wrong. Unborn spirits, especially those belonging to powerful, or important children, are often hosted by Blesséd Mothers rather than their own. That way their birth is insured. And Ids count as powerful spirits.'

'So you're hosting her then?' Joey studied Mind curiously. 'I mean, I know that Catilin's a Blesséd Mother, or could be, so it would make sense for it to be you, right?'

'I may be an older entity than Heart, but in terms of power I am not that much stronger than she is. I might have been able to support the child better for a short while, but we didn't know how long we'd have to wait. We couldn't risk the child draining my powers too.'

'But then...?' Joey swallowed hard, not totally sure he wanted to know the answer.

Without hesitation Heart and Mind turned their gazes towards Body, who just gave a nonchalant shrug.

'You can't be serious,' Joey shook his head. 'I mean, you cannot be serious. Please tell me you're not being serious.'

'Body is a lot stronger than we are. He has the strength of Heart, Soul and I combined and then some. It doesn't matter how long we're stuck like this, the child's Id won't affect him like it will us.'

'I don't want to hear this,' Kaiba buried his face in his hands, 'I really don't want to hear this. This is too much.'

'Kaiba...' Joey took half a step towards him.

Before he could say or do anything else, Jay and SK entered the clearing.

'Looks like we've found Joey,' Jay grinned triumphantly, 'and a whole load of other people too.'

'So... what exactly is going on here?' SK turned to his cousin.

'Ask them,' Kaiba pointed towards the trio as he shook his head and started backing away. 'I can't do this anymore. I can't take it. I can't. I... I have to... I have to get out of here.'

With that he made his way out of the clearing and back into the forest like gardens of Kama Traydon. Joey took half a step after him, but Heart grabbed hold of his arm and shook her head. She then indicated towards Body who was throwing a meaningful look in Mind's direction. Mind gave a simple nod to his unspoken question and watched as Body took off after Kaiba.

'Err... okay, that was my cousin, right?' SK's tongue skated nervously across his lips.

'Yeah,' Joey could hear the less than muted notes of concern in his own voice.

'What's wrong with him?'

'According to him he's just tired, but I get the feeling there's more to it than that,' Joey sighed. 'Still we've got more important things to talk about right now.'

'Like why the hell you've abandoned Mai you mean,' SK licked his lips as he folded his arms, 'you're right, so start talking.'

* * *

He hadn't stopped struggling. No matter how distracting the conversation going on in front of him became, he hadn't stop trying to break free of the youth's control. It was almost impossible to believe just how strong the guy was. Even now, after he'd stalked off after Kaiba, Body's control over him was just as unbearable as it had been from the start. It was starting to really piss him off now. How could somebody who was just a part of a whole be so powerful? It didn't make any sense and the more he thought about it the more rage inducing it became.

'Do you know who you are?'

He almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of Jay's voice breathing quietly from behind him. He'd stopped paying attention to the others when the Helpers had arrived because he'd figured they were just going to spend a ridicules amount of time recapping everything which had just happened. So then why...?

'I could sense you,' there was something almost singsongish about Jay's voice. 'I didn't know I knew I could sense you, but I could. Like a tickly little feeling in the edge of my mind. I knew you were there somewhere, I could feel you. Could you feel me? Could you? Were you waking up as I was waking up? Were you making me wake up like you did before? Why won't you answer me?' Jay's face peered round at him. 'Is this some kind of game? Are you playing with me? I thought you didn't like to play games, so... so maybe someone is playing with you. Is that it? Is someone playing with you? Well, then I'll have to play with them, won't I?' A cruel but childish grin spread across his face. 'I hope it will be a fun game,' he clapped quietly, 'because I like to play.'


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Kaiba could not remember a single other incident in his life where his own thoughts had felt this mixed up and scrambled. It's why he had to leave, why he had to be on his own. He had to find some sense of normality within the confused mess his mind had fallen into. But no matter how hard he tried he couldn't shake the stalking presence of Body. His already agitated state dripped with annoyance; he didn't need this, he didn't want this, why wouldn't the guy just leave him alone already.

As he neared the entrance of Kama Traydon he forced himself to come to a stop. As irrational as the thoughts moving through his head were, he still knew the importance of staying within the boundary of the garden. All he wanted was time to get his head straight, why couldn't his stalker understand that?

'You're not him,' Kaiba almost found himself gritting his teeth against the sound of his own voice. 'If you were him you'd understand I need my space right now. If you were him you would trust me to go back to where the others were when I was ready to go back. If you were him you wouldn't...' he stopped himself, not totally sure what the rest of the sentence was.

Behind him Body made no attempt at a reply. Then again why would he? The guy had no voice.

'You're not him,' Kaiba gave a heavy sigh and turned towards him. 'You're not.'

The youth's single visible eye filled with a strangely emphatic look. After a few moments he pulled back the hair from the left side of his face to once again reveal the mockery of human flesh he wore like an ill fitting mask. Kaiba couldn't help but feel sick; that face did not belong there, nor did it look like it ever should belong there. Seeing his disgust, Body let his long left fringe fall neatly back into place. He then took a cautious step forwards, his hands reaching tentatively towards Kaiba's right arm.

'Stay away from me,' Kaiba pulled back as his whole body prickled with agitation.

Undeterred the youth took another step forward, grabbing Kaiba by the wrist as he did.

'Let go,' Kaiba tried to pull his hand back only to find Body's grip too strong to be broken.

Body's grip on Kaiba's wrist tightened as he lifted Kaiba's hand towards his chest and placed it next to the key he'd taken from Tristan earlier. To Kaiba's surprise he felt a strong heartbeat pulsating below his hand. His brain was too frazzled to really comprehend what it meant; beyond the fact Body was clearly alive. But what did that matter? What point was he trying to make exactly?

In confusion, Kaiba lifted his gaze to meet the youth's, whose visible eye read with a clear message; _how can you demonise me now?_

'You're not him,' Kaiba shook his head, 'you... you're not him.'

Titled his head slightly, Body's expression change and in doing so sounded out a silent question; _what must I do to convince you?_

'You can't convince me of something which isn't true,' Kaiba's voice sounded as dry as his mouth felt, 'just like you can't have a conversation with someone who doesn't talk. You need words in order to communicate so this... this conversation you're trying to have with me is pointless.'

In response the youth simply closed his eye, causing the area around them to come alive with the sound of an obscure song, whose backing track drowned out the vocals. Despite this Kaiba was still able to tell what the song was about, not because it was familiar to him, but because of the tone and mood it set.

Body opened his eye again, his message was clear; _you don't need words to communicate, haven't you learnt that yet?_

'I don't care. I don't care what you think,' Kaiba turned his head away, 'you're not him, this is not a conversation and I just want you to leave me alone.'

Body's grip on Kaiba's wrist tightened and his free hand gently touched Kaiba's cheek forcing his gaze back towards him. The meaning to Body's actions was as clear as his expression; _I'm not letting go of you that easily._

'Why not? Why won't you let me leave? I need to be on my own. I need to be anywhere but here. I can't deal with this right now.'

Body shook his head and his lips twitched with a strangely sympathetic smile; _you're stronger than this._

'You... you don't know me. You're not him.'

Body nodded as his forehead creased with concern; _I am._

'You're not. You can't be. You don't even act like him. I told you, he would know when to leave me alone.'

Body's visible eye studied Kaiba as he tilted his head to one side and lightly brushed a lock of hair out of Kaiba's eyes; _you believed I was Win._

'Win, yes, but not Tristan. There's a difference between Win and Tristan. A huge difference. And nothing... nothing you can say or... not say will convince me otherwise. Do you understand? You're not him. You're not Tristan.'

Body made a noise which almost sounded like a sigh as he shook his head and lowered his gaze; _if that's what you have to tell yourself, but..._ His eye flicked back up again; _Win is still a part of him, which means I'm a part of him too whether you want to believe it or not._

'How are you able to say so much without words?' Kaiba stared at the youth in a strange mixture of apprehension and wonder.

Body released his grip on Kaiba's wrist in order to cup his face; _you understand me, because you know what to look for._

'Don't,' Kaiba pulled away.

Body shrugged and turned from him. For a while there was silence. Despite himself Kaiba found himself studying Body. As he did he felt the Pure doing the same, but sensed her motives were slightly different to his own. After all, she was looking for evidence that Body resembled Win somehow, whereas Kaiba was looking for proof he wasn't Tristan.

'You should get back,' Kaiba gave a nervous cough as he broke the silence, 'I'm sure the others must need you by now.'

Body gaze turned back towards him; _will you come too?_

'I'm not ready to go back yet.'

Body shrugged, folded his arms and lowered his head in a stubborn manner; _I'm not going back without you._

'You have no intention of leaving me alone, do you?'

Body's face filled with a waxy smirk; _of course not._

'Why are you so obsessed with me?'

Body lowered his arms and took a step towards him; _you know why._

'If that's the way you feel, then I know you can't be him,' Kaiba turned his gaze away. 'Those feelings belong to Win and the Pure, not to us. So if you feel that way then you can't... you can't be him. Because _those_ feelings don't belong to us. They're not ours. They're not.'

Body placed a hand under Kaiba's chin, forcing him to face the curious frown set deep into Body's waxy features; _exactly who is it you're trying to convince?_

* * *

Done. He sat back to admire his work with a sick eye. It was done now. Finished. His ordeal was over. It had to be. That had to be the last nightmare. The last thing standing in between him and his memories. He could feel the cage locking tight around the monster and a deep sense of relief and triumph washed over him.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and willed the memory to come forth. It came. First only words, like a radio softly playing in his mind. Then images, sharp, crisp images, beautifully clear, just as though he were there. Every line recorded perfectly, every movement captured without degradation. He never expected it to be like this. He'd feared his curse would have distorted the memory somehow. But not one drop of it had been altered. Not one line changed from its original. This was more than just a memory, this was the event itself.

He smiled. For the first time in months the numbing sensations of fear and hatred were gone. Erased completely. Or if not erased then at least locked up with the monster leaving him free. Free from fear. Free from hatred. Free from evil. The nightmare was over. He could remember what he'd been told. He would be able to do what was needed. He could fix things now. He could save everyone.

Warmth flooded through his entire being. He'd been cold for so long he'd almost forgotten what warmth was like. It was a nice feeling. It was a good feeling. It was the feeling of being free and knowing the monster couldn't hurt him anymore. For a moment his concentration waned, as he allowed the pleasure of his own freedom to lead him to distraction. And, for a moment, it didn't matter. There was no rush. Not yet anyway. After everything he'd been through... after the battles he'd faced and overcome... he had every right to enjoy this feeling.

The moment passed and his concentration returned. He allowed the memory to once again rise clearly in his mind. To form. To play through to completion. To give him the answers he'd so desperately been searching for. The importance of the conversation struck him like a bolt of inspiration. He knew what he had to do. He knew how to save everybody. He knew the_ cure_.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

SK's tongue skated across his lips several times as he tried to absorb everything he'd been told. What he'd thought would be some kind of straight forward explanation as to why Joey had been bewitched by the mysterious blonde, instead became this verbal onslaught from both Joey and the Mind controlled Duke which had almost nothing to do with why Joey had wilfully abandoned his soul mate. To make matters worse, instead of helping him wade through the onslaught, Jay had abandoned him to... he wasn't exactly sure what... to study Yugi maybe.

It wasn't that SK couldn't deal with this information on his own, not exactly, but Jay's perception of these kinds of things was a _lot_ better than his. He was only just really starting to get to grips with how things worked and the right way to adjust his intellectual mindset for dealing with the constant insanity which went hand in hand with his new life. His tongue made its way across his lips several more times as he tried to figure out how he went from being one of the greatest up and coming scientific minds of his generation to the errand boy of the most powerful beings in the multiverse. Hell before his death he hadn't even considered the possibility other realities and real magic, never mind anything else.

'So let me get this right,' SK gave a heavy sigh as he rubbed the spot between his eyebrows, 'Mind, Body and Heart are really the Ids of Tristan, Mai and Catilin. They are also the Voices of Win and because they are Voices they can't talk,' his tongue skated across his lips for a third time as he lowered his hand and glanced towards the other. 'They were brought out by Soul, who's Mokuba's Id, three months ago to do something important but as yet undisclosed, but they're getting worried because they can't complete the task without him and they also can't go back into their... _dormant_ state, I guess would be the word for it, without Soul. This has obviously now reached the point where it's harmful to Mai, Tristan and Catilin, who I'm guessing aren't going to wake up any time soon because of it.'

'Right,' Joey nodded.

'On top of all that something's going on with Yugi too, but you've not had the chance to fully establish what yet. Not to mention my cousin is... _tired_,' SK flicked his hands slightly as he shrugged, 'and Mokuba is nowhere in sight.'

'That about covers it.'

'Great, talk about major headache,' SK's tongue moved back and forth across his lips a few times. 'So what exactly do we do now?'

'We summon Soul,' Duke's voice was firm. 'We need him.'

'Okay,' Joey shot Mind a tight smile, 'but everyone's going to need to get out of the Huntay for this to work.'

Mind and Heart nodded, before doing as they were told. Duke followed Mind out of the circle like a dog following its master and SK went with them just so he wouldn't be the only one stood on his own. Joey drew a deep breath in before making his way towards the stone pedestal. For a few long moments he studied the Huntay in front of him and it was pretty clear he was contemplating exactly how he was going to go about this Id summoning spell.

As SK found himself trying to figure out exactly what an Id summoning spell might consist of, he noticed Jay move from his crouched position beside Yugi. At first it really didn't concern him all that much; after all, why shouldn't Jay move if he wanted to. But as he watched Jay move from Yugi's side to the Axe carefully resting on the pedestal his heart began to lurch.

'Jay,' Joey frowned at him as he watched him picked the weapon up, 'what are you doing?'

Jay gave an inane sounding giggle, but made no attempt at a reply.

'Jay,' SK half took a step towards him, then hesitated, 'this is no time for you to be acting... _weird_.'

'You think I'm acting weird,' Jay tilted his head to one side as a bemused look crossed his face, 'because I think you're acting weird.'

'Jay...?'

'It's time to play a little game,' Jay pointed the weapon at Joey, 'first one to answer correctly gets to live.'

'Uh...' Joey took a step back, 'have you lost your mind?'

'No, no, no, no, I've found it, I've found it,' Jay gave another inane laugh. 'So are you ready then? Are you ready for my question? I want to know. I want to know. I want to know what they did to him,' he indicated towards Yugi.

'Why... why do you want to know,' Joey narrowed his gaze.

'Because I want them to reverse it,' Jay half sung the words. 'You can reverse it, right?'

'No,' as Duke said the word, Mind shook her head, 'only Body can reverse it.'

'How come?' Jay's eyes glinted with curiosity. 'Why does it work like that?'

'Only Body has power over the physical.'

'The physical?'

'Yes.'

'What about you and Heart, what do you have?'

'I control the mental and Heart controls the emotional.'

'Emotional, physical, mental,' Jay rolled the words around his mouth as though he were trying to derive meaning from them. 'Oh, well that's a clever game,' he laughed. 'I didn't think it would be so clever, but it is, isn't it?'

'Jay...'

Before Joey could finish his sentence the Axe in Jay's hands emitted a pulse of light. The pulse shot out, knocking Joey back into the rest of them and binding all five of them to large tree behind.

'I'm not done playing yet,' Jay grinned at them, 'so for now you can all live. But just for now, okay? I don't think its fun for people to die at the end, but I'm not the only one who'll wants to play. Soon, soon, soon there's gonna be big trouble and it's gonna be so much fun.'

* * *

What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she stop feeling so angry? Why did she have to abandon her child to Covo like that? Why couldn't she stand to be around either one of them right now? It was like something hot and painful was crawling through her skin; bubbling under the surface just waiting to burst out.

A pounding beat began pulsating in her stomach. The more it throbbed and moved the angrier she felt. It was as if one simply fed into the other, but at the same time it was so much more than that. The pounding sensation slowly began to shift, becoming strange and almost unnatural; like cold butterflies fluttering inside a hot furnace. And as the wings fluttered inside of her a stirring feeling like a distant echo began to form.

The coldness of her stomach only intensified the raging heat of the rest of her body. Heat which made her feel uncontrollable, unwanted and unalterable angry. She felt like she was burning up. She couldn't breathe. She needed air. She needed to get outside. Stumbling forward she headed, almost sightlessly, towards the garden. Her panic only served to fuel her rage. With every stumbled step and passing moment it built. She knew it was trying to consume her, but she didn't know why. She had to get outside. She had to get out into the cooling air of the uncaged world.

With everything but the pit of her stomach raged with heat, her vision became clouded with her own anger. Everything around her appeared distorted and ugly. Everything felt cruel and tainted somehow. She couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand any of it. She had to get away. Hatred formed like a sickness within her. It was cold. It was centred. It was real. Breaking out into the garden did nothing to dissuade the heat. It clung to her cruelly, like a second layer of skin pasted on with glue.

It was foul. Everything was foul. The heat continued to oppress her. It weighed her down, like a stone in water and she was drowning within it. Her head swarmed with thoughts. Angry thoughts. Cruel thoughts. Hateful thoughts. Dark thoughts. Thoughts she'd only ever had once before. And in that moment of realisation she understood everything. She knew what was happening. She knew what had clung inside of her, hidden so deeply within its own womb, growing like a child. A child to which she was now giving birth.

A hysterical laugh escaped her lips and the darkness was once again reborn.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

He had no idea what had gotten into Jay, but there was something about the strangely child-like nature he had which felt familiar somehow. The longer he sat there in his statue like position watching the insanity play out, the more certain he became of Jay's unquestioning loyalty towards him. He didn't quite know how to feel about that loyalty, but he wasn't going to question it. Why would he if it meant someone freeing him from his binds?

A slight smirk tugged at his lips as he watched the others beg and plead for Jay to reconsider what he was doing or at least explain to them what the hell had gotten into him. On the edge of his empathic sense he could tell at least one of them had managed to figure something out, but what that something was and who might be feeling it eluded him. As the nature which drove him changed, the strength of his empathic abilities altered. They didn't go away, just became almost negligible in the face of everything else.

After a while the cries of the others dwindled down into defeated murmurs. The sound was almost like music to his ears. The sheer amounts of pleasure and joy he got from knowing they were suffering was almost too much for him to stand. In his head he was already coming up with scenarios to make their lives even more miserable than they already were. Every instinct in his body wanted to torment and torture them until they could take no more. That thought alone rekindled his need to break free of the binds holding his body in place.

Still something told him Jay had a plan of some kind to get him out of this situation without expending too much of his energy. He didn't know why, but something told him to trust the guy at least until he'd served his purpose or became completely useless to him, which ever happened first. After what felt like a lifetime of waiting, the sound of approaching footsteps finally met his ears. Everyone's attention turned towards it as Body, closely followed by Kaiba, emerged out onto the Sacred Huntay.

Within seconds Body had assessed the situation and made towards his friends. This caused Jay to laugh and fire a beam of light out of the Axe into Body's direct path. This caused Body to come to an abrupt stop and focus his confused attention on Jay.

'Hello little puppet,' Jay grinned, 'it's time for us to play.'

The look on Body's face was hard and serious. For a few long moments he just stood there, staring down at Jay in some kind of silent battle of wills. Then he turned and made his way towards the tree the others were bound to again.

'Nu-uh-uh, bad puppet,' Jay fired another beam, this time hitting the youth directly, knocking him off his feet. 'This is my game and my rules and you will play the way I want you to.'

Body pulled himself back to his feet, his single visible eye glaring at Jay as he did. He flexed his hands a few times, moving them like some cowboy in a Wild West movie waiting for the right moment to draw his gun. Everything about Body's stance made him look strong and intimidating, but from the look on Jay's face it was clear Body's display was having no effect.

'You wanna know the rules of my game _puppet_?' Jay stretched the last word in a weird, almost rhythmic kind of way. 'They're very simple,' he twirled the Axe he was holding, 'all you have to do is make me freeze, like you did with him,' he nodded in his direction.

Body shook his head.

'What's the matter puppet, can't you do it? Can't you make me freeze? Come on; have a little go, won't you? It'll be so much fun.'

'Jay have you lost your mind?' Kaiba's voice was somewhere between anger and annoyance. 'Stop this right now.'

'Aw, is the Pure trying to defend her little boyfriend?' Jay turned his attention towards Kaiba. 'That's _so _sweet.'

'Shut the hell up,' Kaiba went to move towards him, but Body held a hand up to block his path. 'But...'

Body glanced towards Kaiba and shook his head. He then took several steps towards Jay and focused his full attention on the guy.

'Body don't,' Duke warned.

For a moment Body hesitated and glanced towards Mind. She shook her head several times and each time she did he just nodded back at her. After a couple of minutes of this, Body waved a dismissive hand at her and refocused his attention on Jay. Body then raised a hand towards him and closed his eyes. For a few long moments nothing happened. In his bound position he found himself holding his breath and waiting to see what happened next. To his great surprise, Body's face filled with a look of pain and his body trembled as if under great strain as he slowly fell to his knees. As he continued to witness this spectacle, he could feel the control over his own body begin to lift. Eventually Body's face distorted into a silent cry of anguish and, exhaustedly, he crumpled to the ground.

'You're free now, right?' Jay turned towards him.

'Yeah,' he nodding as he rose to his feet, 'how did you know that would happen?'

'The dead don't have bodies, not proper ones,' Jay grinned. 'He was trying to make me dance to his tune, but I dance to another's. Hurray for being a spirit,' he lifted the Axe up into the air triumphantly. 'I guess now it's your turn to play, right?'

'Play?' He frowned.

'Yes,' he indicated towards the others, 'I've got them all neatly packaged up for you, see? I know your games are not like my games, but you can still have your fun if you want.'

'My fun...?' His eyes turned towards them as he remembered his previous torturous thoughts.

'You don't know who you are, do you?' Jay pouted. 'Well that's no fun. I'm no good at playing teacher, that's a dumb game. But, but, but I know something fun we can do. We can play find the missing piece.'

'Find the missing piece?' He shook his head.

'Right now we're only two,' Jay grinned at him, 'when we should be three.'

* * *

With his mind as tired and out of it as it was Kaiba had been too stunned to think, never mind react to the situation. He couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. After all, he knew first hand just how powerful Body actually was, so to see him reduced to this state... Shaking his head he glanced towards the others. The disappearance of Jay and Yugi had freed them from the circle of light binding them to the tree. As soon as they were free, Heart and Mind rushed towards the youth. Mind then cradled his head on her lap, as the Heart lay on his chest, with her arms wrapped around him. His single eye gazed sadly from one to the other as his right hand reassuringly stroked Heart's hair. He was weak, but he was far from done.

'Can anyone explain to me what the hell just happened?' Duke let out an exasperated sigh. 'I mean, I know what just happened, but…' he shook his head, 'it just didn't seem real, but then nothing has since she,' he indicated towards Mind, 'took control.'

'And just why isn't she in control now?' Joey studied him for a few moments.

'I don't know exactly, she didn't give me a reason before she left my head, but I... I got this sense that being with him,' he indicated towards Body, 'was more important somehow.'

'Being with him,' Joey's voice was dull and his eyes glinted with a hint of jealousy as he watched the trio. 'But why does she want to be with him?'

'Because it's their natural state,' even Kaiba found himself surprised by his own sense of clarity.

'Huh?' Joey stared at him.

'They're the Voices of Win,' Kaiba's voice was dry as he watched the trio exchanging kisses, 'it's their natural state to be together. What they mistake for attraction, is actually a need for completion. You're the last person I thought I'd need to explain something like that to Wheeler.'

'Right now all I know is that I didn't mind behaviour like that,' he indicated towards the trio, 'so much last night. Then again I didn't know Heart was Mai last night.'

'So you really had no idea it was Mai?' SK licked his lips.

'Why would it even occur to me? Heart is about as different from Mai, as she is strangely similar. You must feel the same thing about Body, right?' Joey glanced towards Kaiba.

'And just what's that supposed to mean?' Kaiba turned his head away.

'What it means Kaiba, is that you must be able to see a lot of Tristan in Body, even if he doesn't really act like him.'

'Yeah, right,' Kaiba folded his arms, 'Body doesn't even remotely remind me of Tristan.'

'Really?' Joey cocked an eyebrow at him. 'Because I can kind of see it.'

'Are you saying Tristan is...?' Kaiba cut himself off.

'Am I saying Tristan is what?' Now it was Joey's turn to fold his arms. 'Look, I'm not saying everything Body does reminds me of Tristan. Hell I don't think Tristan would be seen dead in that outfit for a start; I'm just saying certain things remind me of him. Like his loyalty for a start. Not that _you_ would really notice something like that, since you just expect it whether or not you deserve it.'

'Whatever Wheeler,' Kaiba gritted his teeth. 'Right now we have bigger things to worry about, like dealing with those two maniacs for a start.'

'I assume you're talking about Jay and Yugi,' SK licked his lips again.

'Who else?'


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

When Ahna had attacked her, Covo had been too stunned to put up any kind of resistance. Instead he'd allowed her to take the now screaming Crovell from his arms and place him down in the nearby crib, before forcefully tying Covo to one of the bedposts. By the time it even occurred to him he should fight back somehow, he was already bound and gagged.

Once she was satisfied he was securely captured, Ahna had made her way towards the crib. Covo then watched as she did something unseen to the screaming infant. With every second that passed Covo felt his heart pound with a mixture of painful emotions. He couldn't understand what was wrong with her. He didn't understand why she was doing this. All he knew for sure was that he wanted her to stop.

'Baby's are loud,' without warning Jay entered, holding a beautiful butterfly axe in one hand as he attempted to childishly cover his ears, 'make it stop.'

'I'm trying,' Ahna glanced up towards him, 'it's not exactly easy you know, he's been contaminated.'

As she was saying this Yugi entered. There was a look on his face somewhere between confusion and curiosity about the situation. He took up a position next to the door and folded his arms.

'I don't care, make it stop,' Jay pulled a face, 'it's so noisy I can't hear myself think.'

'I didn't realise you had the capacity to think,' Ahna smirked. 'But I'm doing my best here, he'll recognise me soon enough and when he does we'll be unstoppable.'

'Yay,' Jay clapped as Crovell's cries began to die down into crackling whimpers. 'Do you think this puppet will serve us better than...?'

'Now, now little sibling, you know better than to mention that traitor's name,' Ahna cut him off.

'Traitor?' Yugi frowned at her.

'Let me guess, you're still asleep?'

'Asleep?'

'Yes, yes, yes he is,' Jay nodded furiously, 'so it's your turn to play teacher, right? Playing teacher is a boring game, so you should play it.'

'Are you calling me boring?' Ahna cocked an eyebrow at him.

'No,' Jay shook his head, 'I'm calling playing teacher boring. So are you going to teach him now?'

'No,' Ahna focused her gaze on Yugi as she lifted Crovell out of the crib, 'he can learn what he needs to learn all by himself. This infant is still going to take a little while before he truly remembers that he's ours, so we're in no rush for his new host to submit, not yet anyway. Although if we keep throwing in gender references I'm sure we'll provoke a reaction sooner rather than later.'

'Uh... I hadn't even thought about that,' Jay blinked at her, 'you're so smart.'

'And you're just an idiot child,' Ahna rolled her eyes, 'you don't need to think and from now on you won't have to.'

* * *

Joey couldn't keep his mind on the conversation at hand. Maybe it was because Heart still had him completely and utterly bewitched. Maybe it was because he knew Heart was a part of Mai and seeing any part of Mai giving her affections away to anyone else so easily cut him deeply. Or maybe it was just because the trio themselves had a draw to them so strong it would take a lot of strength and determination not to be distracted by them; a theory Joey could well believe given the fact he wasn't the only one whose attention kept getting drawn towards them.

Glancing round at the others, Joey amused himself with their reactions for a moment. For a start Duke wasn't even trying to pay attention to anything else. With no powers of his own to counteract whatever layer of magic helped to make their attraction so strong it was perhaps unsurprising he was powerless against it. Then again Joey was now making assumptions magic had anything to do with this. It could have just been hormonal or more likely still the after effect of Mind's control over him. It would be impossible to tell without asking and who wanted to have that conversation?

Kaiba, on the other hand, was doing his best not to appear distracted by them. Although all his attempted resistance actually did was add another layer of confusion to his already scattered behaviour. Joey had never seen Kaiba quite so irrational; and it was even worse when you noticed just how hauntingly ill he looked. Whatever had been happening within the Kaiba household the last few months had done a real number on him and Joey wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to feel about it.

Movement out of the corner of his eye brought his attention back to the trio. Body had moved into an upright sitting position now, although his head was still resting lazily against Heart's shoulder. It was pretty obvious he was starting to recover, although how much longer it was going to take for him to return to his full strength...

'I know they're rather attractive to look at guys, but we really have more important things to be talking about right now,' SK's voice cut through his train of thoughts.

A sheepish feeling moved through Joey as he turned his eyes up towards the Helper. He'd been the only one he'd not bothered to examine just now, because he knew instinctively the trio held no attraction for SK. He didn't know why SK was able to resist when the rest of them weren't, but the thought that SK had a stronger will than them was a little scary.

'Sorry SK,' Joey averted his gaze, 'I was just thinking about the best method to summon Soul. I mean, that's what we were about to do before Jay went haywire on us and I still think it's the best thing to do right now.'

'As much as I hate to admit it, I agree,' Kaiba folded his arms.

'Okay,' SK licked his lips, 'so how exactly do we summon Soul?'

'Maybe we should bring Mokuba here,' Duke gave a nervous cough, 'after all he is Soul, right, and Soul's the one with the power to bring the others out so maybe Mokuba knows how to bring Soul out.'

'I doubt it,' Kaiba's voice was sharp and defensive.

'I agree with Duke,' Joey sighed, 'I mean, I have some ideas about the best way to go about summoning Soul, but just having Mokuba here to begin with might make this whole situation a lot easier.'

'No.'

'What do you mean _no_?'

'I mean, no you can't bring my brother here. I don't want him involved.'

'But regardless as to whether or not he's physically here, we're going to at least have a part of him here, so he's going to be involved no matter what,' Joey cocked an eyebrow at him. 'I know you're not exactly acting rationally right now rich boy, but even you have to see the logic there.'

'I don't...' Kaiba gritted his teeth, 'shut up Wheeler.'

'What's going on with you,' Joey studied him.

'I told you, I'm tired.'

'And I'm telling you I don't believe that. Well, I believe you're tired, but there's definitely more to this situation than just that.'

'I thought I told you to shut up Wheeler.'

'Make me,' Joey met and held his gaze, 'come on, make me shut up, because right now that's the only way...'

Before Joey could even finish his sentence, Kaiba had punched him hard across the face. It was enough to stun Joey into a momentary silence; he'd barely even seen Kaiba move.

'Now, will you please shut up,' Kaiba's voice was strangely stilted and quiet as he backed away.

'Gee, remind me not to be concerned about you in future,' Joey rubbed his cheek. 'Then again I guess I should have known better; it's not like we're friends.'

'No, just sisters,' SK gave a nervous laugh as his tongue skated across his lips.

His comment cause both Joey and Kaiba to glare at him. Joey could understand the guy trying to defuse the tension, but there were definitely better ways to do it. Ways which didn't hit so uncomfortably close to home.

'So, who's up for bringing Mokuba here,' Joey's gaze flicked around the rest of the group.

'I told you that's not happening Wheeler,' Kaiba's voice was tight, 'why can't you just let it drop already?'

'Because we need Soul and this is the best way I can think of getting him.'

'It's not the best, it's just the fastest,' he shook his head, 'that's not a good enough reason to put my brother's life in danger. I'll be the first to admit I'm not exactly thinking clearly right now, but I'm still thinking a lot more clearly than any of you, since you all seem to have missed the obvious here.'

'And what exactly _is _the obvious?' Joey cocked an eyebrow at him.

'If we bring Mokuba here and then release Soul, both his Id and his physical body will be at risk,' Kaiba's voice was dry. 'That's why I objected, it's just taken me a while to put it into words. My brain might be working slower than normal, but it's still working, which is more than I can ever say about yours.'

* * *

He hadn't really used his powers before now, so it took him a while to figure out how they worked. Once he had his first priority was checking on the other three Win hosts. They were all unconscious and for some reason he took this to be a good sign. After all he had a vague recollection of doing something useful before the true force of his nightmares set in.

Once their bodies had been assessed he began trying to work out exactly where their Ids had run off to. Unfortunately he couldn't remember what kind of instruction he'd given them or even if he'd given them any at all, but some instinct led him to the gates of Kama Traydon. It made sense to start his search here, since he knew this was where he needed them to be. As he made his way through the garden towards the Sacred Huntay a strange dreamlike tiredness washed over him. Each step filled him with a heavy kind of weariness like nothing he'd ever experienced before. It didn't worry him though. In fact, just the opposite. He felt completely calm; so much so it bordered on being unnaturally tranquil.

As he neared the Huntay, the sound of raised voices met his ears. Again he wasn't worried, he felt too peaceful to care about much of anything. Even the reasons why he was there had become an all too distant memory.

'Mokuba?'

The alarmed tone of the speaker registered, but only just and even that wasn't enough to snap him out of his trancelike state. Bright colours danced in his vision as it slowly blurred out of focus. His head felt heavy, so it made a strange kind of sense for him to lie down upon the hard ground and close his eyes. After all he'd been through to get here, if sleep made sense to him, then why shouldn't he sleep?


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

'Mokuba,' Kaiba felt his whole body turn cold the second his brother stumbled out into the clearing.

With a fluttering like a cold heartbeat moving through his stomach, Kaiba watched as Mokuba slowly collapsed to the floor and fell into a deep state of unconsciousness. Almost as soon as he did, a young boy, roughly between four foot five and four foot seven in height and of indistinguishable age, appeared above him. He had sleek, shoulder length, glossy black hair, which hid half his face. His visible eye was one of deep blue and it shone with an impishly mischievous look. He was dressed in nothing but a pair of scruffy black jeans and his feet were bare.

The young boy's eyes scanned his surroundings curiously. The second he spotted the trio he bounded recklessly towards them and pounced into their arms. Instantly the trio showered him with an abundance of affectionate kisses.

'Okay,' Joey gave a nervous laugh, 'I wasn't expecting that.'

'It's pretty cute though,' Duke tilted his head to one side as the others shot curious looks in his direction. 'I mean, for a reunion, the way they're acting, it's... cute.'

'Okay, I'm just going to pretend you know cute is not a word _you_ should be using to describe something like that,' Joey smirked. 'In fact, unless _you're_ using it to describe a girl I really don't think it should even be in your vocabulary.'

'Just because using the word would insult your own sense of masculinity, doesn't mean it does for the rest of us Joey,' Duke rolled his eyes.

'We could take a vote on it.'

'Must the two of you be so idiotic,' Kaiba made a noise of disgust as he went to assess his brother's condition.

First of all he checked for a pulse. Once he was satisfied his brother was still alive he checked both sides of his face to make sure they were intact.

'Well at least we know they don't get them that way,' he sighed in relief.

'What was that?' Joey's question cut into him.

'It doesn't matter,' Kaiba shifted uncomfortably as he got back to his feet. 'Just be grateful you got what you wanted.'

'What I wanted?' Joey frowned.

A mild feeling of irritated annoyance moved through Kaiba. Gritting his teeth, he turned his head away and used his right arm to indicate at the foursome.

'Oh I get it,' Joey laughed again, this time with more enthusiasm. 'So what now?'

'We get answers,' Kaiba folded his arms.

'You mean we interrogate Soul?'

'If that's how you want to put it.'

'Yeah, good plan. One problem though, Soul can't talk.'

'I know, but if Mind regains her control over Duke, she can,' Kaiba shrugged. 'She can communicate with him and Duke can bridge the gap between them and us.'

'So nice of you to ask Duke about this first,' Joey cocked an eyebrow at him. 'What if he doesn't want his mind controlled again?'

'Are you kidding me?' Duke almost squeaked with excitement, before giving a nervous cough. 'I mean, I don't mind.'

'Then it's settled,' Kaiba smirked. 'Now all we have to do is get them to agree to it.'

Kaiba turned his attention back towards the foursome, just as the overly energetic Soul attempted to pull Body to his feet. With great effort he succeeded, but the still weak youth was forced to lean heavily on Mind in order to remain standing. This didn't seem to bother Soul much though, who, with monkey like agility, climbed up onto Body's back, wrapping his legs around the older boy's waist and his arms around his neck. Heart clapped in amusement, causing Soul to transfer himself onto her with a speed and skill almost impossible to believe. She gave him several affectionate kisses for his efforts, before he leapt down from her back and began darting around the area of the Sacred Huntay like some kind of manic child.

As he made his hectic way back and forth across the Huntay, he leapt on and over people as if to prove he could. On one of the several occasions Soul used him as a springboard, Kaiba couldn't help but note how light and agile the boy was. A weird smile tugged at Kaiba's lips although he couldn't be quite sure what the reason for it was.

'This ridicules,' he gave a nervous cough and tried to regain some kind of composure. 'How can someone so... animalistic be responsible for anything but chaos?'

At the sound of this complaint, Soul stopped in his tracks and turned towards Kaiba. Pushing his shoulders back, he raised himself to his full height and stared, almost challengingly, at him.

'Way to go Kaiba, get him angry why don't you?' Joey rolled his eyes.

A sharp clap from Mind caused Soul to turn back towards her. She nodded at him and, after nodding back, he again turned towards Kaiba and the others, giving them a waxy apologetic look.

'So does that mean you guys are ready to talk to us now?' Kaiba met his gaze.

As if in reply, Soul bounded towards SK, swinging himself up onto the Helper's back and into the same position he'd first used on Body. He then rested his head on SK's left shoulder and closed his eye. SK gave a loud gasp of shock as his head fell forward. His whole being then shuddered and after a few seconds his gaze rose to meet with Kaiba's.

'I am Soul.'

* * *

He still wasn't totally sure what was going on. The way Ahna and Jay were acting was at once familiar and yet totally alien to him. Somewhere in his head he knew what was going on here, but at that moment in time it was beyond his comprehension. It had taken some time, but Ahna had managed to quieten Crovell. She now held him in the exact same manner Jay held the Axe; these were weapons they could use, they deserved no more and no less affection or attention than that. It was almost chilling to see, but at the same time...

'So exactly what are you planning to do?'

'We're going to finish what we started last time,' Ahna's eyes met with his.

'Last time?'

'He still doesn't remember,' Jay pouted. 'Why doesn't he remember yet? Make him remember.' His eyes turned towards Ahna's.

'If I knew how, believe me I would,' Ahna's face puckered into a strange expression. 'But right now he's little more than a corrupted Mistress of Light, until he overpowers her, he's not going to remember anything.'

'We need to help him overpower her.'

'We can't. This is his fight and his alone. This isn't the same as it was for us. Even the Passive Mistress has a stronger will than a mortal.'

'Maybe we should go play with the others now,' Jay grinned. 'Maybe that will help him remember.'

'No,' Ahna shook her head, 'we can't risk tipping things back into their favour.'

'But...'

'Right now I'm the oldest little sibling,' she gave a darkly amused half laugh, 'and that means what I say goes, got it?'

'Oh, but...'

'Give him some time; he'll come back to us.'

'But waiting is so boring.'

'I know, but in the end it will be worth it.'


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

'I am Soul,' SK repeated the words in order to break the stunned silence which had fallen. 'I control the spiritual so I'm the only one who can control the dead. If the other three try it only hurts them, because the dead don't have bodies or hearts or minds in the same way the living do. Body should have known better when he tried to control Jay before,' he turned his gaze towards the youth, 'but then Body always needs to play hero, so I guess I can understand.'

'What do you mean he needs to play hero?' Kaiba frowned. 'None of you have been around long enough...'

'Body and Mind are old,' SK cut him off, 'they've been around many times and have had many lives, but certain things have always been true for them. Heart and I might be young, but we know what these things are, because we know each other. When you're as close as we are, you just know these things.'

'But... you still need to be closer,' Joey almost dragged out the words. 'I mean... Win is one being, not four.'

'We know. I know. So once Body is back to his full strength then we'll be ready to become one again. That's what needs to happen now.'

'Why do we need to wait for Body's strength to return? Why can't we just do it now?'

'Because Body is the strongest. He was always made to be the strongest. Even if he was the youngest he would still be the strongest.'

'Okay, what?' Joey cocked an eyebrow at him. 'Just what the hell is so special about him exactly?'

'He's the solid concept.'

'Huh?'

'He's the bit that holds the rest of us together.'

'I see…' suddenly Joey felt the warmth of Heart's arms around his waist; turning to her, he couldn't help but smile. 'Feeling a bit more friendly now, are we?'

Glancing round at the others, Joey could see that Mind and Body, had attached themselves to Duke and Kaiba in a similar manner. He couldn't help but smirked at Kaiba's lack of resistance to this, but knowing what Body's power was, he wouldn't like to say for sure exactly what that _lack of resistance_ was about.

'So once we've put you all back together what exactly are you planning to do?' Joey turned his attention back to SK and Soul.

'We plan to cure the darkness.'

'Huh?'

'When you last faced the Reganna a poisonous rain fell across the land, filling everyone it touched with little seeds of darkness. Seeds which spread out into everyone those people came into contact with and then out further from them, till everyone and everything was infected. This poison of darkness is what created the downfall of the multiverse, or at least that's how I understand it from what the Future Body told me.'

'I see,' Joey pressed his lips together.

'For the last three months Mind, Body and Heart have been gathering all those seeds together and replanting them into three pots.'

'Pots?'

'You mean people, don't you?' Kaiba's voice was strangely tight. 'You had them move all the _seeds of darkness_, as you put it, into three people, didn't you?'

'Yes, that's right,' SK nodded.

'And let me guess Yugi and Jay were two of them?'

'Yes,' he nodded again, 'and Ahna the third.'

'Ahna?' Joey's whole being filled with horrified concern.

'They had the most seeds to begin with, so it made sense.'

'What do you mean _they had the most seeds to begin with_?' Duke frowned. 'Weren't they cleansed already? Shouldn't they have less than everyone else? And what about Catilin for that matter? How did she avoid it when they didn't?'

'Catilin didn't avoid it. But during the time I had before the darkness fell I was able to transfer what was in her into the next most viable host; Yugi. See I needed her. I didn't need him.' SK's voice was strangely firm. 'And there was more darkness in the three of them to begin with because they were the hosts and the darkness just wanted to get back to what was familiar. It was why moving all the seeds was so easy.'

'So basically in order to _cure the darkness_ you first had to reform the Reganna?' Kaiba massaged his temples. 'Was that really such a good idea?'

'It had to be done; the future Body knew it was risky, but he also knew it was the only way. We have to cure the darkness.'

'And how do you _cure_ darkness exactly?'

'The same way the darkness was killing the light in the hell future,' SK's voice was eerily calm.

'What do you mean?'

'When light becomes darkness it dies; so to cure darkness you turn it into light.'

* * *

With the up most care and using the slowest, smallest movements he could muster, Covo began trying to work lose the ties around his wrists. As he gained more movement, he delicately attempted to pick at the knot resting just below the base of his hands. All the while his eyes kept making glancing up towards the three of them, who currently appeared oblivious to his escape attempts. Soon, however, he knew he would have to make more noticeable movements if he was going to get anywhere, but the longer he could delay making them, the better.

Crovell made some chirps and squeaks which caused a few crude remarks to circulate round the trio. Inside Covo fumed, his concentration momentarily broken. Crovell might not have been his flesh and blood, but he thought of him like a son all the same. For anyone... _anyone_, even his own mother, to say anything untoward about him... Taking a deep, angry breath in through his nose, Covo forced himself to return to the task at hand. He could feel the knot becoming looser and looser as he continued to pick at it. Eventually it became loose enough for him to slip one of his hands out; unfortunately this also meant the end to any subtle movements.

For a few painfully long minutes he found himself watching the others for any sign they were paying the slightest attention to what he was doing. They weren't. Covo could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he forced himself to think about exactly what it was he was about to do. All three of his opponents were either more powerful or better skilled than he was. For him to come out of this crazy mess of a situation unharmed was no doubt a long shot. But he owed it to himself and to Crovell to try.

He knew his best chance was to catch them off-guard. The more sudden and unexpected his escape attempt, the greater the chance he would be able to pull it off _and_ take Crovell along for the ride. He couldn't afford a single slip up. This was undoubtedly the most risky thing he would ever do and, for all he knew, it might well be the last thing he would ever do. If Ahna was still acting like herself, she'd be the one person he would say goodbye to and his heart almost wept at the thought. But this was not the time for weakness; this was the time for action. Squeezing his eyes shut, he mentally counted to three. It was now, or never.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

Less than a minute after Soul had told them the _cure_ and before anyone had a chance to question him about it, he leapt down from SK's back. This left the Mistresses' Helper in a zoned out zombie-like state, whilst Soul casually examined his surroundings. It was pretty clear he had no intention of filling them in on anymore details or else believed they were intelligent enough to figure out the rest of the plan for themselves.

Joey rolled his eyes and contemplated how typical it was for a _Kaiba_ to give them only half the information they needed just because they could. Sighing heavily he turned his attention towards Heart, whose visible eye was watching Soul intensely. Shifting his gaze back towards him, Joey watched as the shortest member of the foursome clearly communicated something to the other three. His communication was done through a series of lose gesture and subtle glances. Exactly what it was he was telling the others, Joey had no clue, but after a few moments, Mind nodded and with that nod both she and Heart vanished.

'Hey where did they go?' Joey couldn't keep the disappointment out of his voice.

He hadn't expected a verbal reply, but Soul's callous shrug annoyed him. Whatever the reason was for Heart and Mind leaving, he clearly didn't think it should matter to them. But he was wrong; it did matter, Heart was Mai after all and Joey loved Mai. Frustrated, there was little else Joey could do but watch as Soul skipped his way towards Body, grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him away from the others. As he did so the youngster poked his tongue childishly out at the rest of them, clearly displaying a complete disregard for anything they might think or feel. He then led the youth to a spot under one of the trees overshadowing the Huntay. When they reached it, Body sat down exhaustedly and crossed his legs. Almost instantly Soul curled up, in a cat like manner, on his lap and allowed the youth to gently stroke his sleek black hair.

'And just when you thought things couldn't get any stranger or more uncomfortable,' Duke cocked an eyebrow as he folded his arms.

'Yeah, well at least there's nothing to be jealous about there,' Joey shrugged.

'Well not for us at least.'

Joey couldn't help but share a sly smirk with Duke, as both of their eyes turned towards Kaiba.

'You're not jealous, are you Kaiba?' Joey couldn't help but tease.

In response, Kaiba grunted, folded his arms and turned his head away. In his current irrational, emotions pretty much out in the open state, this was the closest he'd come to blank-walling.

'You know what Joey, I think he is,' Duke smirked, 'and my bet is that it's because Body's no longer showering him with attention.'

'Oh grow up,' as unlevel as Kaiba's voice was it betrayed surprisingly little.

'Why? Not touching a sore spot for you, are we?'

'A question like that is so idiotic it doesn't warrant a reply.'

'Why not?' Joey edged towards him. 'Is it because it's true? Is it because you're jealous? Aw, what's the matter Kaiba, isn't Body showering you with attention anymore.'

'Shut up Wheeler,' Kaiba swung for him, but the aim was as sloppy as Kaiba was over emotional and Joey was able to catch it easily.

'You really aren't acting like yourself today, are you?' Joey met and held his gaze. 'We're just having a little bit of fun with you,' he released Kaiba's fist, 'and you're making it _way_ too easy. You've got to get a grip rich boy; you're no good to us like this.'

'Well you're never any good to anybody,' Kaiba's eyes glinted with anger. 'Because if I were you I'd be a lot more concern with the fact we're facing the Reganna again one Mistress short of a trio. And we have the mutes to blame for that, I might add.'

'We're calling them the _mutes_ now?' Joey cocked an eyebrow at him. 'Wouldn't the Win Parts or the Voices or even the Ids be a better name for them?'

The look of anger on Kaiba's face was enough to reveal just how short his patience had become. In the back of his head Joey could sense the First stirring and he got the sense she felt as though Kaiba's behaviour was _Pure-like_. Although from what he could tell, the First considered anybody's emotional behaviour to be _Pure-like_ so that didn't really help.

'Fine, if you want to call them the mutes, we'll call them the mutes,' Joey rolled his eyes, 'but you seriously need to get yourself back under some kind of control. It kills me to admit it, but I can't stand seeing you like this; it's not natural.'

'Whatever,' Kaiba's voice was tight. 'Shouldn't we be working on a spell to put the Win Parts back together?'

'Yeah,' Joey tilted his head in thought, 'you're right; although it's going to be pretty tricky pulling one off on my own.'

'Then give me my powers back.'

'What?' An almost involuntary laugh escaped Joey as he turned his gaze back towards Kaiba.

'Give me my powers back. You said yourself reforming Win is going to be tricky on your own, so isn't the obvious solution here for you to give me my powers back?'

'You're kidding, right?'

'No,' the look on Kaiba's face was deadly serious.

'But you were the one who wanted the powers taken away to begin with, remember? Aren't you worried about the Pure forcing her will on you or something?'

'It's a risk I'm willing to take if it's the only choice we have.'

'But we don't know it's the only choice we have. I haven't sussed out all the options yet.'

'Okay, say you can put Win back together on your own, you and Win can't take on the Reganna by yourselves you know. You're going to need the Pure's help eventually and the only way that's going to happen is by releasing the block on my body. So...'

'So?' Joey stared at him. 'If and when I need the Pure's powers I will release the Pure's powers, but the way you're acting right now... You're not acting rationally and you're not thinking clearly and quite honestly I wouldn't trust you with a piece of paper.'

'What about the First? What does she have to say about it?'

'Funnily enough Kaiba, she agrees with me on this one. Your so called _tired_ state would allow you to be easily influenced by the Pure and if you were thinking with any kind of clarity you would agree with me. So unless I absolutely need the Pure I'm not releasing the block on your body.'

Almost as soon as he'd finished speaking and before anyone could react to his statement, SK gave a loud groan. With stiff and uncertain movements he stretched several times in several directions before finally turning his attention towards them.

'What happened?' SK's tongue skated across his lips.

'You mean you don't remember?' Duke stared at him in surprise.

'No,' he shook his head, 'what did I miss?'

'Oh nothing much,' Joey's voice dripped with sarcasm, 'just your incredibly insane cousin asking for his powers back.'

'And does he? Have his powers back I mean.'

'As if.'

'Why not?' SK licked his lips again. 'Surely two Mistresses are better than one right now.'

'And here was me wondering how you two could possibly be related,' Joey rolled his eyes. 'Look, I'm not giving him his powers back. Not unless I absolutely have to.'

'Apparently he thinks I'm too emotional to handle them right now,' Kaiba's voice was filled with a mixture of childish and moody tones.

'Yeah, you're right, I do,' Joey shrugged, 'and? It's not as if I'm wrong. Besides, it doesn't matter what any of you think, right now I'm the only one capable of giving you your powers back so if I say no, then you're just going to have to live with it.'

'Is that what you think?' Kaiba laughed and shook his head. 'Because I know for fact you're not the only one here capable of giving me my powers back.'

'What?' Joey frowned. 'Who...?'

'Body.'

'Body?' His eyes slid towards the youth. 'Are you sure?'

'I'm certain,' Kaiba sounded smug, 'and what's more I'm know he'd be more than happy to do it for me.'

'I'm sure your little boyfriend would if he were up to full strength right now,' Joey gritted his teeth, 'but he isn't. So just suck it up and face it already rich boy, your powers are in my hands.'


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

He couldn't believe it. It had all happened so quickly he wasn't even totally sure he'd seen what he'd seen. For a start out of nowhere Covo managed to break free of his bonds. Then, just as he was about to jump Ahna for the infant, the two mute blondes appeared out of nowhere and one of them took the child before he had a chance. The second blonde then grabbed hold of Covo's wrist and in the blink of an eye all four of them had vanished without a trace.

There was a dark look of pure, unadulterated anger on Ahna's face as she glared at Jay. He squirmed with all the discomfort and displeasure of a small child upset at being accused of something they hadn't actually done.

'Not my fault,' Jay lowered his head and shifted his gaze away.

'Liar,' Ahna tapped his face, forcing his gaze back up towards her, 'you were stupid enough to leave a trail for them to follow, weren't you?'

'Not on purpose.'

'Oh no, you never do anything like this on purpose, do you?' Ahna's voice was tight and angry. 'I only just managed to get him settled now; do you have any idea how far back this is going to set us? We need the little brat to be on our side.'

'I know.'

'We should go after them,' he folded his arms, suddenly feeling the need to interject himself into the conversation.

'Oh please,' Ahna rolled her eyes, 'you're smarter than that. It's a trap and a fairly obvious one too. They want us to chase after them, don't you get it?'

'I do,' he shrugged, 'but giving them what they want can be just as much fun if we do it right. I'm getting bored of this... nothingness, we have to do something... exciting or else I'm going to go out of my mind.'

'Well, at least you're starting to sound more like yourself,' Ahna's gaze gave him a slow once over.

'So, is there anything we can do?'

Ahna appeared to think for a few moments, before a slyly cruel smile spread across her face.

'You know something, there is,' she closed her eyes for a moment and swiftly Glamoured herself into Mai.

'Uh... hey, do me too, do me too,' Jay clapped, 'that looks like fun.'

'It does, doesn't it?' Ahna chuckled as she slowly made her way around him. 'And what's more it'll only get to be even more fun when they see us like this. Making people question what they think they know is always so much fun.'

Almost as soon as Ahna had completed her circuit around Jay, he Glamoured into Catilin. For a few seconds he studied himself in the mirror, then he laughed, clapped and bounced on his heels in the same manner Catilin herself might have.

'Yay, I can do her, I can do a real good impression of her.'

'I know you can,' Ahna smiled at him, 'in fact she's the only one you could do an impression of. So,' she turned her attention towards him, 'that just leaves you, my dear older sibling, so tell me, just how good are your impressions?'

* * *

Covo blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness of moving from a dimly lit bedroom to the relatively sunny area of his new surroundings. It took him a few seconds to realise he was now at the Sacred Huntay in the middle of Kama Traydon, which made him feel even more awkward when he realised he wasn't alone.

'I... I swear I didn't Jump here on purpose; I would never violate the rules like that.'

'It's okay Covo, we know,' Joey sighed, before turning his attention towards one of the two strange looking blonde girls. 'It's not that I don't trust you, but do you mind passing me my son? I'd like to check he's okay.'

The blonde shook her head, but said nothing.

'Crovell is my son, I just want to make sure he's okay, you know I'm not going to hurt him, right?'

She nodded.

'Then give him to me.'

She shook her head again and turned her gaze towards Covo.

'Oh please don't tell me you're thinking what I think you're thinking,' Joey gave another head sigh as he pinched the area between his eyebrows. 'Let me guess, you want to give _my _son to Covo, right?'

She nodded again.

'Does actually being a child's father count for nothing anymore? Seriously I'm starting to feel like some kind of spare part in Crovell's life; something he could easily do without and not even notice I wasn't around,' Joey shook his head. 'Fine, go ahead, hand my flesh and blood over to Covo.'

Without hesitation the blonde did as she was told. There was something awkward about the way she passed Crovell over to him and it took Covo a second to adjust the child into a more comfortable position. As he was doing so the blonde in front of him cast a glance back towards the other girl. Their gazes met and held for a single moment, before the other blonde nodded, causing the blonde in front of Covo to turn her attention back towards him. She then placed her right hand above Covo's heart.

'What are you doing?' Joey's voice was filled with curiosity.

The blonde made no attempt to respond to Joey's question. Instead her visible violet eye lifted to meet Covo's gaze. As their eyes locked, Covo felt a spike of fear move through his stomach. The sensation was so sudden and unexpected he simply put it down to the bizarre nature of the situation they were in. He took a deep calming breath in, but almost as soon as he'd exhaled it the feeling of fear returned. It was stronger this time and kept resonating through him like some kind of continuous pulse. Instinct made him hold Crovell closer to him, as everything inside of him just wanted to pull away and run.

'Heart,' the sound of the voice made Covo almost jump out of his skin, 'I asked you a question; what are you doing?'

Covo's heart began to race as he glanced in the direction the voice had come from, only to realise he didn't recognise the monster who'd spoken. In fact he didn't recognise any of the demons which surrounded him, especially not the one directly in front of him with the waxy smile spread tauntingly across her face. Slowly he started backing away from her as everything in him told him he had to run. This was more than just a fleeting instinct now, this was a serious command. He had to run. He needed to run.

'Covo, are you okay?'

'Stay... stay away from me,' he shook his head as he stared fearfully at the monster who'd spoken. 'Stay away from me, stay away from me, stay away from me.'

'Covo...?'

One of the monsters took several steps in Covo's direction. Every instinct in him was now screaming for him to run, but still he remained frozen to the spot. He was too afraid to move. Too afraid to breathe. Too afraid to even think. He was just so very, very afraid.

'I told you to stay away from me,' he gripped Crovell closer to himself, 'so stay away from me. Stay away.'

'Covo, I...?'

'Stay away!'

In that single moment of blunt emotion, Covo's feet became unstuck. Not willing to waste a second he turned and fled the area of the Sacred Huntay. He ran and he ran and he ran as fast as his feet would take him. Within what felt like seconds he cleared the gardens of Kama Traydon and broke out into the wider world of Sil. Without thought or hesitation he continued to run forward. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't really care. His destination wasn't important; the only thing which matter was that he kept moving until he reached somewhere safe. He had to keep moving. He had to protect the child. He had to reach somewhere safe.

* * *

Almost as soon as Covo was out of sight, the Sacred Huntay had filled with the sound of a loud club like song. A waxy, self-indulgent smile filled Heart's face and she started dancing in what must have been the weirdest victory celebration ever. Within seconds Soul had joined her, dancing in a more manically free-spirited way than any of his contemporaries had. It wasn't the first thing about Soul's behaviour which marked him out from the others, but it did caused Kaiba to once again question just how much his brother's madness might have affected his Id.

Kaiba tried to shake those thoughts from his mind and focus on the events which had just occurred; namely Heart using her power over the emotional to put the fear of hell into Covo. What exactly did the foursome have to gain from it? Or was this caused by Heart acting out her Egos own secret desires? After all there had to be some part of Mai that wished Crovell didn't exist, right?

'He's way too fast for a stag,' Joey panted as he re-entered the Huntay.

Joey had chased after Covo, like a cheater going after its prey. But clearly his chase had been as successful as it had been long. A part of Kaiba felt strangely disjointed with Joey's premature return. It wasn't that he'd expected the guy to be successful; with the power the foursome could boast between them they would clearly always get what they wanted. No his feelings of irritated disappointment were more due to how quickly Joey had given up on chasing down the guy kidnapping his son. Well maybe kidnapping was situationally the wrong word to use, but still...

'What are they so happy about?' Joey's voice dripped with annoyance.

'Putting the fear of hell into Covo I suspect,' Kaiba rolled his eyes as he turned his head away.

Joey stormed his way across the Huntay and grabbed hold of Heart's arm in a clear attempt to stop her from moving. She just smiled back at him and tried to get him to dance.

'I'm not in the mood Heart,' Joey's voice was heavy and serious. 'I want you to reverse whatever it is you've done to Covo and bring him back here now.'

Heart shook her head and gave him an emphatic look which suggested she thought he was better off staying away.

'Heart he has my son,' Joey gritted his teeth, 'I want you to bring him back right now.'

Again she shook her head.

'Heart I'm serious, I want you to bring them back here right now.'

Heart cast a glance back towards Mind, who nodded. She then placed her free hand on Joey's chest and a strange, almost teasing smile appeared on her face. To Kaiba's disbelief, Joey then began laughing.

'This isn't funny Heart,' Joey's voice hiccup out of him between laughs, 'I'm trying to be serious here,' his body began to crease up under the strain of the fit. 'Stop it.'

It didn't take long for the laughter to completely incapacitate Joey. Clear signs of strain began to show on his face as he struggled to breathe.

'Stop,' he fell to his knees clasping his stomach, 'can't… breathe…' he gasped out the words between laughs, 'can't… breathe…'

Kaiba had been so focused on Joey he hadn't even notice Body rise from his position in front of the tree and cross the Huntay towards them. Once he reached Heart, he took hold of her shoulders and forced him round to face her. There was a serious look on Body's face and it was clear he wasn't happy with what was happening. With an almost unexpected display of speed, Soul leapt onto Heart's back and began batting Body's hands off of her. The youth shook his head and motioned emphatically towards the still suffocating Joey, but Soul continued to batter him away.

Body let go of Heart and continued to gesture towards Joey. Heart's visible eye darted towards where Mind was standing, but before she could get a reaction from the other girl Body blocked her view. He then returned to gesturing at her; this time his movements were over-exaggerated and almost too passionate for the cause. These movements caused Soul to jump down from Heart's back and position himself between her and Body. From where he was standing it was now impossible for Kaiba to see what the youngest member of the foursome was doing. But whatever it was sent Body storming his way across the Sacred Huntay towards Mokuba's unconscious body.

He effortlessly scooped the body up into his arms and flicked a look back in Soul's direction. Their eyes locked for a single moment, before Body stormed his way out of the clearing and into the forests of Kama Traydon. By this time the sound of Joey's laughter had disappeared. Kaiba cast a quick look towards him and allowed his gaze to meet with a clearly concerned Heart's as Soul idly kicked at the ground.

'Very clever,' Kaiba clapped sarcastically, 'you've just knocked out the First.'


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

Considering just how bizarrely his cousin was acting, SK wasn't totally sure whether or not he was surprised by the way Kaiba had stalked off after Body. Powerless or not, the Pure was still the only conscious Mistress left on their side and, as the Mistresses Helper, SK somehow felt like he should be taking greater steps to insure her safety at this point. But there wasn't a whole lot he could do, after all guarding an unconscious Mistress had to take priority over tracking down a conscious but powerless one.

Sighing heavily, SK turned his attention back towards the others and watched as Heart knelt down beside Joey and began gently stroking his hair. Any idiot could see she hadn't wanted things to go this far. In fact the look on her face suggested she wasn't totally sure how things had ended up this way to begin with. SK's gaze shifted towards Mind; she was the one who'd allowed Heart to _lighten _Joey's mood, for want of a better word. But whose idea was it to use laughter? And why didn't Heart stop when Joey was clearly struggling? It's what Body had wanted her to do, so why didn't she? Why had she listened to Soul? Or had she listened to Soul?

SK flicked his attention towards the youngest of the Voices. He was still milling round looking as though the rest of the world was to blame for what had just happened. Could that be true? Could that whole scene have been staged by Mind? Could she be capable of something like that? She was a part of Catilin after all and SK wouldn't have put anything, not even something like this, past Catilin.

'Body shouldn't have stopped the music,' Duke's voice was dry.

'What?' SK licked his lips as he turned his gaze towards him.

'Body shouldn't have stopped the music. I learnt a lot about the four of them whilst Mind was in control of me,' he tilted his head to one side, 'music is important to them. Stopping the music whilst one of them is still enjoying it is just about the worst insult any one of them can throw at each other.'

'Okay, but...' SK hesitated, 'why did he stop the music? I mean, I know why he stopped the music, but... Why did Soul want Joey to pass out?'

'I don't know, but I get the feeling Soul differs from the others in more ways than just the obvious.'

'What do you mean?'

'You must have noticed by now that Soul doesn't act a whole lot like the others,' Duke wearily rubbed his face. 'He's a lot more animalistic for one thing and, if you'll forgive the pun, he's a lot more spirited. There's something almost... wild about him and I'm not totally sure if that's just how he is or... well Catilin said there was something strange going on in the Kaiba household.'

'Something strange?' SK's tongue skated across his lips as he frowned. 'Wait, how would she even know that?'

Before Duke could answer, Mind wandered over to him and took hold of his hand. She then tugged him in the direction of Joey.

'I know you want me to wake him up, but I'm not totally sure it's possible right now.'

Her visible eye filled with a deeply sorrowful look.

'I... I can give it a try, but... you have to be prepared for him to be out for a little while, okay? There's probably not a whole lot I can do.'

Mind nodded, before leading Duke towards Joey's unconscious body. SK then watched, as Duke knelt down opposite Heart and gave Joey a proper once over examination.

'Is he still alive?' SK licked his lips again.

'Yeah, fortunately,' Duke sighed in relief, 'but I'm pretty certain he's not going to be waking up anytime soon.'

Duke's words made Heart's expression crumble. The confusion in her visible eye was clear as she flicked it questioningly between Soul and Mind. It was clear she had no idea why what just happened had happened. This only strengthened SK's belief that the scene had been contrived or staged somehow and why he doubted it had occurred just because Body has stopped the music. But who was to blame for it happening, Mind or Soul; from the way Heart's eye kept switching between them SK couldn't help but wonder if he'd been a little too quick to blame Mind earlier.

He didn't know the full details, but he did know Mokuba had been somewhat traumatised by his visit to the so called _hell_ future. The problem was SK didn't exactly know just how badly his younger cousin had been traumatised. For a start he hadn't actually seen him since he woke up three months ago. Not that he hadn't tried, of course, but Kaiba had constantly come up with excuses and reasons not to let SK get involved. All he would say was that Mokuba was dealing with _a few issues_ and that he was best left alone until they were sorted out.

From the first time Kaiba had said that to him, SK had been uneasy about it. But his cousin wasn't someone easily argued with and, increasingly so over the last few weeks, whenever he ran out of arguments he just hid behind the Pure. Mistresses' Helpers didn't have to approve of what the Mistresses were doing; in fact according to Jay even Guardians were encouraged to voice their opinions if they felt the need to. But at the end of the day if a Mistress put her foot down about something then you had no choice but to obey.

'So... do you think one of us should go after Kaiba?' Duke interrupted SK's gradually meandering train of thoughts. 'I mean, we should have at least one conscious Mistress here, even if the Pure is powerless.'

'In case the Reganna attack you mean?'

'Exactly, you might be dead, but I have no plans on joining you just yet.'

'You don't have to worry too much about dying as long as you remain in Kama Traydon,' SK's tongue skated across his lips. 'As for my cousin, I don't think he'll be gone for too long. Body took his brother's body with him when he left, so it's only natural for Seto to want to make sure it's safe.'

'Yeah, you're right. Although I'm sure the thought of a little alone time with Body...'

'Don't even finish that sentence,' SK cut him off.

'You don't even know what I was going to say,' Duke smirked.

'No, but I can tell. My cousin is having a hard enough time keeping his head straight as it is without you winding him up about... whatever.'

'And by whatever you mean...'

'I'm not going to let you finish that sentence,' SK's tongue skated across his lips again as he folded his arms.

'Why, what do you know that you're not telling us?' Duke frowned at him.

'I don't know anything and neither do you and that's exactly my point. All your speculation and... whatever is just winding him up and that's the last thing we need.'

'But he's not even here right now, how will he even know what we've talked about?'

'This is Seto Kaiba we're talking about here,' SK rolled his eyes, 'trust me he'll know.'

* * *

He was beginning to understand now; not just their plan, but who they were and who he was. The more he thought about it, the more obvious it became. In fact, he was starting to wonder how he'd forgotten and why it had taken him so long to remember. A deep sense of amusement moved through him, creating waves inside the feelings of cruelty and blood lust stirring inside of him. These were the feelings which made him arrogant and proud and a million other things which only excited him further.

His companions shared glances with him. They knew he knew who he was again. They knew it and they revelled in it just as much as he did. Because the three of them together were stronger and more determined than ever. They would get what they wanted. They would succeed this time. Because they had the upper hand. They had what they needed. Well... almost.

There was still one little piece of their puzzle missing. One tool with which their victory would be assured. It annoyed him more than a little that the best method to get this tool back was trickery, but he wasn't going to complain. After all, once they had what they needed there would be every opportunity to make up for lost time in the most deliciously torturous way possible. The thought excited him so much he could almost taste it. Soon, soon, everything would come crumbling down again soon.

* * *

Covo felt as though he was fleeing from an angry pack of wolves in a forest fraught with danger. He was running on the fearful adrenalin coursing its way though his veins, forcing him to keep going. Not that he could stop even if he wanted to. Stopping meant death. Death meant he couldn't protect the child anymore. And if he couldn't protect the child then all of this was meaningless.

He had no idea how long he'd been running for. He had no idea where he was going. His body ached and cringed and cried out for him to rest, just for a second, just long enough for him to catch his breath. But he couldn't listen to his body. He couldn't stop. He had to keep going. He had to keep running. Running until his lungs burst. Until his body exploded with exhaustion. Until every last drop of water he contained sweated its way out of him. He had to keep running. Running until they were safe. Until he knew the danger was behind them. He had to keep running. He had to keep running.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

It had occurred to Kaiba, even before leaving the Sacred Huntay, that Body had taken his brother's body for the sole purpose of getting him to follow. The only problem was, he didn't know why yet. And with Body's extreme mutism, it wasn't as though he could just ask. Still there was one thing he was almost complete certain of at this point and that was the fact the scene back at the Huntay had been staged.

There were two reasons which had brought him to this conclusion. The first being that Body and Soul had appeared to act independently of Mind; Body had even gone so far as to block Heart from being able to do the same, as if he knew Mind's reaction would raise questions one way or another. Kaiba had worked out pretty early on that everything the others did came at the agreement of Mind, at least whilst they were all together. Body might have been their strongest, but Mind was clearly their leader. For both Body and Soul to have acted without checking their actions back with her first meant they had preapproval to behave in the way they just had. The evidence for this became stronger when you realised Heart had only allowed Joey to pass out because she'd not received the order to stop her attack from Mind.

The second reason Kaiba believed the whole thing was staged was the way Soul had just allowed Body to walk off with Mokuba. They'd all seen the impish little Voice literally come out of him, so even Kaiba couldn't deny there was some kind of connection between them. The others had all shown concern about the state of their so called Egos and there was no doubt in Kaiba's mind Soul would feel the same way about protecting his own; so then why had he allowed the guy he was fighting with to just take off with it without putting up the slightest amount of a fight. It was possible that Soul inherited Mokuba's current lack of self-preservation, but if you were fighting with someone... truly fighting with someone... you wouldn't care what the point you were arguing over was, you'd just want to argue.

No. No the event had to be staged. There were too many little kinks and quirks about it for it to have been anything but. The only real question now though, was why? Why go to the trouble of knocking Joey out just so you could take off with Mokuba's body? Did they think Joey wouldn't let him tag along? Did having Joey out cold serve some greater purpose? If Kaiba could have thought a little more clearly he might have been able to answer some of those questions. Unfortunately he could feel his mind starting to strain. It was frustrating; normally he could have answered all of these questions and more on his own in no time, but right now... Right now all he really wanted to do was lie down and sleep for a week.

Just as he was thinking this they arrived beside the lake his brother had _drowned_ in the last time they were in Kama Traydon. It was here Body finally came to a stop and cast a curious look back towards Kaiba.

'You know I'm not gonna let you drown him right?'

Body rolled his visible eye; _as if_.

'So what are you going to do with him then?'

Body used his head to indicate towards a gap in one of the bushes surrounding the lake.

'You're going to hide him?'

Body gave a single nod of agreement.

'From Soul?'

A weird smirk appeared on Body's face as he shook his head.

'From the Reganna?'

Body nodded again.

Kaiba watched as Body nestled Mokuba's unconscious within the bush. From the path they were on he was practically invisible and the care and consideration Body used in hiding Mokuba's body only confirmed Kaiba's theory; the fight before had been completely and utterly staged. It didn't really matter what the reasons were at this point, Kaiba just felt strangely satisfied at being right.

Once Body had finished hiding Mokuba, he posed in front of the bush with a self-satisfied look on his face. It was clear he was proud of himself and that he wanted Kaiba to be proud of him too.

'So you've proven yourself to be a good guy again,' Kaiba shrugged, 'that doesn't mean I'm impressed.'

Body wagged his finger at him as a wry smile pulled across his face; _yeah you are_.

'So you two faked that little argument of yours back there,' Kaiba gave him a slow once over, 'do you mind explaining why?'

Body tilted his head from side as a thoughtful expression crossed his face; _it's complicated_.

'I have time,' Kaiba met his gaze, 'it's not like I'm in any hurry to get back to the others.'

Body nodded and smiled; _good_.

Without warning Kaiba felt his body become stiff. Within seconds he found himself sat down under a tree opposite the entrance to the lake. As soon as he was in position the feeling of control lifted from Kaiba's body.

'What did you do that for?'

Body made a few lose gestures which to anyone else might have been completely and utterly meaningless, but somehow Kaiba interpreted them as; _you need to rest_.

'Now's not the time for me to be resting,' Kaiba tried to get up, but Body crouched in front of him and held him in place.

The look on Body's face was serious and his visible eye flickered about with strangely emphatic movements; _you're tired, you're not acting like yourself, you need to rest_.

'Are you telling me you got me all the way out here, just so I can get a little bit of sleep?' He shook his head in confusion.

Body shook his head and tilted it to one side; _not sleep, just rest_.

'Okay, I'll rest,' he sighed and leant his head back against the tree, 'but there has to be more to all this than that. I really don't see how or why I couldn't have just rested where the others are if that's what you really wanted.'

Body pressed his lips together as he rose to his feet and studied Kaiba for a few moments.

'So are you going to tell me what this is really all about or not?'

In response Body pointed to Kaiba's throat; _you mind?_

'Yes, I do mind. I don't want you using my voice like that.'

Body frowned; _why not?_

'Because...' Kaiba hesitated, 'because we're communicating just fine like this.'

Body crouched down in front of him again and his visible eye stared at Kaiba with a searching kind of curiosity; _there's only so much you can say without words you know_.

'I know, but... somehow I'm able to understand you and maybe it has something to do with the Pure, maybe you unlocked a little bit of her telepathy when you did... whatever it was with my arm earlier, but... I can understand you so you don't need to use my voice.'

Body smiled as he ran the back of his right hand down Kaiba's cheek; _or maybe we're just more connected than you'd care to admit_.

'Don't,' Kaiba pulled back from him, 'Tristan and I made a promise that we wouldn't let things get confusing between them and us again. It's the Pure you have those feelings for, not me.'

Rolling his eye, Body shook his head and pulled himself back to his feet; _you just don't get it do you_.

'Get what?'

Body shrugged, before pointing towards Kaiba's right arm which was now glowing again; _it doesn't matter, so do you want the rest of it back?_

'So is this why we're out here then?' Kaiba found himself studying his arm.

Body tilted his head thoughtfully from side to side as his visible eye shone with an almost teasing look; _maybe_.

'Is this because Wheeler would give me access to the Pure's powers?'

A huge grin spread across Body's face; _got it in one_.

'And you had to knock him out, because...?'

Body's head shivered from side to side as he pulled a face; _isn't it obvious?_

'Because you were worried he wouldn't let you,' Kaiba sighed. 'I guess this whole situation makes a little more sense now. So, how exactly are you going to give me my powers back?'

Nervously Body shifted his gaze away; _well that's the bit you're not going to like_.

'Let me guess,' he began massaging his temples, 'you're going to have to get way to close for comfort, right?'

The smile on Body's face was somewhere halfway between apologetic and uncertain; _just a little, sorry_.

'Well you are the _physical element_ I guess I should have expected that,' Kaiba sighed again.

In response Body just grinned stupidly at him; _admit it, you like it really_.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

Joey gave a loud groan and squeezed his eyes even tighter shut than they already were. His chest ached. His head felt both heavy and light at the same time. The ground below him was hard and unyielding and all he could think about was how he'd managed to laugh himself unconscious. Considering the circumstances he wasn't totally sure if it was something he should be embarrassed about or not.

Giving another loud groan he forced his eyes open. He winced against the hardness of the daylight as the blurring image of Heart moved into his view. He blinked a few times to clear his vision allowing him to see the anxious expression strewn across Heart's face. Instinct made him lift his hand up and gently stroke the hidden left side of her face.

'It's okay, I'm not that mad at you.'

Heart's expression filled with relief as she pressed Joey's hand against her cheek.

'You know there are better ways of winning an argument,' he gave a muted laugh, only to wince at the pain it caused.

'Welcome back to the land of the living,' Duke peered down at him. 'How you feeling?'

'Like my chest's about to collapse,' he groaned for a third time, 'but otherwise fine.' Grudgingly he sat up and stared round at the others. 'Hey where's Kaiba?'

'After you passed out, Body left with Mokuba's body and Kaiba followed him.'

'Great,' Joey rolled his eyes, 'now I get what this was all about.'

'Huh?'

'I'm not quite sure how I know, but... Heart wanted to stop the laughing fit, but when she looked to Mind for permission Body blocked her.'

'But Body was the one who wanted the laughter to stop, wasn't he?' SK's tongue skated across his lips. 'So...?'

'So why didn't he let her get that permission, probably because he'd been told not to. The four of them aren't idiots. They know we've probably picked up on a lot of their habits by now, including the one which means everything they do they check back with Mind first. If Heart had checked back with Mind and she'd refused to let her stop then the rest of you would have probably started interrogating her or something. They couldn't risk anything happening which might stop Kaiba from following after Body.'

'But why?'

'Because this was the only way they could give Kaiba access to the Pure's powers without me interfering.'

'What?' SK laughed in surprise. 'You really think they would go to these lengths for that?'

'Body's still not back at his full strength so whatever it is he needs to do is probably going to take a while,' Joey sighed as he pulled himself up from the ground. 'If I were conscious and present then I'd probably find some way of stopping him. No, not probably, I would. I still think giving Kaiba access to the Pure's powers now is a bad idea. He's already unstable, the two of you have seen that, all blurring the boundaries between him and the Pure is going to do is further confuse things for him. We all saw what her influence on him did before...'

'But we still need the Pure's powers right now,' Duke cut him off. 'Why are you the only one unable to understand that?'

'Because I've seen the way he's acting and I'm worried about my...' Joey cut himself off. 'The First is worried about her sister. They are a part of us, so if we're affected by something then so are they. It was why the First was so powerless against Sta's control three months ago, because I was. You just need to look at Kaiba to see something's not right with him and the First is terrified about what that means for the Pure.'

'And here I thought you were just worried the Pure might try to usurp the First again,' SK's tongue skated across his lips as his gaze narrowed on Joey, 'because from where I was standing that little carry on you had before was filled with macho-testosterone and not sisterly concern.'

'Do you have any idea how confusing it is dealing with two peoples' sets of feelings all the time?' Joey glared at him. 'I was going to come off as a jerk either way, so I might as well be a jerk on my own terms, right? But whether you want to believe me or not I am genuinely concerned about that arrogant bastard you call a cousin. I don't think him having his powers back right now is a good idea.'

'But they do,' Duke shrugged and indicated towards the Voices, 'and I think we have to trust that they know what they're doing.'

'And I want to be able to trust them, I do, but a lot of the decisions they're making right now are pretty reckless. Making Covo afraid of everything as a way of protecting Crovell, knocking me out so they can lift the power block on Kaiba's body; the ends aren't really justifying the means.'

'I guess you do have a point there,' Duke pressed his lips together, 'I mean they had no idea how long you were going to be out for.'

'So who's plan do you think it was?'

'Huh?'

'Well I think we all know it wasn't Heart's idea. If anything she was the only one who wasn't in on it. So which of the other three do you think came up with the brilliant plan to knock me out.'

'Well... err... if I had to guess I'd say Body or Soul,' Duke pulled a face as he half turned his head away. 'I mean, they were the ones who were here when you and Kaiba had that little argument before, so they're the ones who knew something needed to be done.'

'Well I guess that makes sense,' as Joey spoke Heart wrapped her arms around his waist and lightly kissed his cheek. 'Well I'm glad you're feeling a little friendlier now.'

Joey found himself studying Mind for a few moments, before casting a glance towards Soul. Mind was busying herself shifting the Elemental stones into ever so minutely different positions, whilst Soul was amusing himself with a makeshift game of hopscotch. It was clear they were getting pretty bored now. Joey's eyes shifted back towards Heart, his fingers edging along the scar across her lower stomach. He knew he had more important things to be worrying about, but for some reason only one thought kept nagging its way through his mind.

'Hey Mind,' the sound of his voice cutting across the silence made the dusty blonde jump, 'do you remember what you told us before? About having to move Jo's Id I mean; I want to know, can it be reversed?'

Mind stared at him for a few thoughtful moments, before shrugging.

'Look, I understand what you were saying and I agree that Blesséd Mothers are a good idea, it's just…' he pressed his lips together. 'Well normally Blesséd Mothers are, you know, mothers and,' he coughed nervously, 'well there are going to be certain potential repercussions for what you did, if you can't reverse it I mean.'

Mind's single visible eye glimmered with understanding for what he was saying. The problem was she clearly didn't think she'd done anything wrong. Whether or not there was a way to reverse it didn't concern her. Why would it? Problems like that were the concern of the Ego and not the Id, or at least that's what Joey was forcing himself to put it down to.

'Maybe the reformation of Win will reverse it somehow,' Joey sighed, 'because it's probably going to be better for everybody involved if it does.'

'Err... I think I missed a page of this story somewhere,' SK blinked in confusion as his tongue moved back and forth across his lips.

'It's not important right now SK,' Joey gave a dismissive flick of his hand, 'and hopefully it never will be.'

* * *

Panic. Everything had dissolved into complete and utter panic. It pounded hard through his veins. It fluttered wildly in his stomach. It made him feel hot and cold in the exact same moment. It surrounded him. No. They surrounded him. He didn't know where they'd come from, but he was certain he knew what they wanted; the child.

He tried to run. Running was all he was good at. Running was all he knew. But without warning he found himself trapped with no way out. Nowhere he could run. No escape. He tried to think of something... anything to save the child from the evil he could sense closing in on him, but it was impossible. His brain was only capable of one train of thought and that train of thought wanted him to run. But he couldn't run. There was nowhere to run. He was trapped. Trapped. Trapped.

He had lost. There was no other explanation for it. No other fate for him now. He had lost. He had failed the child. All he had left was fear and the instinct to run, but neither were of any use to him. Not anymore. He had failed. He had failed. He was trapped and he had failed.

* * *

'Don't kill him,' Gan caught hold of his hand.

'I wasn't going to kill him,' Re's face filled with a cruel smirk, 'I just want to have a little fun.'

'Oh yeah and whilst you're having your fun, my host will dig her grubby little fingernails into me and claw her way back to the surface,' Gan glared at him. 'Her feelings for him are strong and thanks to the existence of the brat my hold on this body is unstable at best. We can't afford to take any chances.'

'Then maybe you should start digging at your little host,' Re turned his nose up at her, 'break her down, consume her, make her yours. She won't disobey you then.'

'Again you underestimate the strength of maternal instincts,' Gan rocked the screaming child from side to side. 'Besides, I don't have the same taste for driving my host insane that you seem to.'

'Who said anything about me driving my host insane?'

'_Break her down, consume her, make her yours,_' Gan gave an overly dramatic imitation of Re, 'what else could it translate into other than drive your host out of her mind. Besides, insanity is your specialty.'

'So exactly how long is it going to take you to settle that brat again?'

'I don't know. Fortunately whatever little fear spell that idiot was under seems to have slowed any influence they might have had over the child down considerable. However he was with them for quite some time, so...'

'Need I remind you my patience is thin at the best of times Gan,' Re gritted his teeth, 'I refuse to wait all day for you to get that brat under control again.'

'You won't have to wait all day,' Gan rolled her eyes, 'in case the sunset wasn't enough of a clue, night is coming. A little on the early side as well, don't you think?'

'You crafty whore, what did you do?' Re's face filled with a shark like grin.

'As much as I'd love to take the credit for it, this was actually Na's doing.'

'Well I guess you needed to have your uses,' Re patted Na's cheek.

'I like the darkness,' Na grinned, 'it makes me tingle.'

'We are the darkness,' Re laughed, 'and it's time to remind those arrogant bitches of that.'


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

The Nurse gave a heavy sigh as she checked on the two patients in the far end room. Both of them were in a pretty sorry state right now and a part of her couldn't help but feel as though it was her fault somehow; if only she hadn't let Mai to get up like that. With everything that had happened after Mai had revealed the identity of the poor girl in the other bed, all the Nurse could remember was the fact her first name was Téa. She'd passed this information onto the doctors and the police, of course, but with no last name to go on they still weren't much closer to finding her family.

She felt so useless and it was a feeling which refused to go away no matter how many people told her it wasn't her fault for forgetting. Well if it wasn't her fault then whose was it? Nobody else had messed up twice in such a short space of time. And she had messed up twice; nobody could tell her she hadn't. Somewhere in her mind she knew this was her own sense of guilt and self-persecution talking, but she didn't care. She deserved to persecute herself for this.

A heavy sigh escaped her as she rubbed her weary face. It had been a long day. Too long. But he shift was almost over now and soon she would be at home, tucked up in bed and sleeping as deeply as these two patients were right now. Only her sleep wouldn't be caused by any mysterious unknown. Her sleep would be natural and deep and refreshing. At least, that's what she hoped. Guilt worked its way through her body as she finished her checks and made her way out of the room. She cast a final glance back at the two young women and prayed with everything in her they would be okay. Because she knew in her heart she could never forgive herself if they weren't.

* * *

Divide and conquer; it was a strategy which had been used for generations. One almost as old as conflict itself and Gan should know, after all Gan was the one to come up with it. Gan was the original antagonist, the creator of wars and conflicts. Even in a broken down and thinly spread out state Gan had been able to influence so much mistrust and animosity it was almost a shame the darkness had to reform.

Still in all the generations which had passed since Gan's genderless form had been destroyed, one thing remained a complete and utter truth. All bonds, no matter how strong they appeared to be, could be broken. Even those between sisters. In fact Gan took a great deal of pride knowing the truth behind the rivalry between the First and the Pure. The underlying issues pushed and pulled at, leading to the inevitable conflict which had left the Pure completely and utterly powerless.

Mortality had been the final and unavoidable clincher. It had severed the bonds of trust between them and without trust the sisterhood was easy prey. Perhaps that was why the Face of Friendship had fallen under their control. After all, she was the weakest link and without her sisters there to take care of her... Gan couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. Still there were other things to focus on right now. New bonds to break down and sever and there wasn't the luxury of time to do it with.

Gan's new target was Win. That annoying pest of a creature who's loyalty to the Mistresses was matched only by his intense strength and determination. Win was a tricky foe and his bond to the Mistresses would be impossible to sever in such a short space of time. Unfortunately for the Mistresses the reverse was not also true; because what woman could truly be happy sharing a husband and not be racked with jealousy? Women were far more jealous creatures than men and now that Gan was one, she understood exactly how to get under their skin. It was part of the reason why the three of them had remained Glamoured, despite reclaiming the child. Because even if this strategy wasn't to her siblings taste, it was most definitely to Gan's and a challenge like this was going to be fun.

* * *

SK didn't wear a watch, but from the second the sun had started setting he had this strange feeling like it was too early somehow. He wanted to bring it up with the others but he didn't want to look or sound stupid, especially if it was just in his head. After all, neither of them had reacted to it. But then again their attention was rightfully captured by the sound of an approaching people. When they came into view SK's tongue skated back and forth across his lips several times in disbelief.

Mai, holding a fussing baby Crovell, and Catilin entered the area of the Sacred Huntay. Both of their faces were plastered with smiles far too cheerful given the fact they should have been lying unconscious on a bed somewhere. SK could feel his insides tense; something wasn't right here.

'You have a very clever son you know Joey,' Mai's voice was light and almost singsongish, 'he managed to find me and bring me here all by himself. I think we're going to need to watch out for him; he's clearly going to be trouble, aren't you little man?'

Joey's eyes studied Mai long and hard for a few moments. He then glanced toward Heart, before shifting his gaze back towards Mai again.

'How are you here?'

'I told you, Crovell brought me here.'

'No,' he shook his head, 'I mean, how are you here and conscious? What's going on?'

'What's the matter hiet braysta,' Catilin pouted, 'aren't you pleased to see us?'

'They are you,' Joey indicated toward the Voices.

'Don't be silly, they're not us, we're us,' Catilin giggled, 'are you under some kind of spell hiet braysta?'

'Spell?'

'Uh-huh, when I woke up I could sense the air tingling and buzzing and telling me something was wrong. I think it was telling me you were under some kind of spell hiet braysta, why else would you believe they're us when we're us.'

'Because we saw Soul come out of Mokuba,' Joey's voice was firm. 'If they're not really you how do you explain that?'

'Mokuba has power too,' Catilin pulled a face, 'maybe he used his power to create all this.'

'Why?'

'I don't know, maybe he's a bad Mokuba. Maybe we didn't get the real Mokuba back after all. Maybe he's the bad Mokuba trying to trick everybody. We haven't seen him in ages and ages, so how do we know it's not?'

'I don't believe for a second Mokuba is capable of any of this,' SK's tongue skate across his lips as he took a step towards her, 'my cousin was traumatised by what happened to him...'

'Well then maybe that's why he's doing all this,' Mai cut him off. 'Maybe he's insane.'

'No, no you're the ones who are insane if you think we're going to believe any of this,' SK shook his head, 'who are you really?'

'Mai Valentine and Catilin Ashmar,' Mai met and held his gaze, 'who else would we be?'

'And how did you say you got Crovell again,' Joey eyed her up suspiciously.

'He just appeared out of nowhere next to me.'

'And what about Covo?'

'I haven't seen him,' the expression on her face was filled with a faked level of worry, 'why, is he in some kind of danger?'

'And it was Crovell who brought you here?'

'Yes and when I arrived at the entrance of Kama Traydon, Cat was there waiting for me.'

'I'd only just arrived too,' Catilin grinned.

'I see,' Joey's eyes flicked back towards Mind and Heart, 'and you're saying these two aren't parts of either one of you.'

'Of course not,' Mai smirked, 'does she look like a part of me?'

'Mokuba's gone all funny in the head hiet braysta, you can feel it in the air,' Catilin held her arms up and span around a few times. 'I don't think he's trying to trick you on purpose, but... maybe he's dangerous,' her eyes slid to one side, 'and maybe so are they.'

'I see,' Joey focused his gaze on Mai. 'If I asked you to hand my son over to me, would you?'

'Of course,' Mai's voice was as unnaturally calm as her expression was tight, 'he is your son after all, do you want him?'

'No, I want you to hand him to Duke.'

'What?' She laughed in surprise. 'But don't you think Duke spends too much time with him as it is?'

'Yes, I do and the bond they share does worry me, but that doesn't mean I don't trust him.'

'So you want me to hand your son over to Duke then?'

'Yes. You don't have a problem with that, do you Mai?'

'No,' her voice was slow and curious, 'of course not.'

With an almost cocky kind of confidence SK had never seen Mai use before, she made her way across the Huntay to Duke. Once there she handed Crovell over to him and turned round to face Joey, striking a pose as if to say _happy now?_ Joey's eye gave her a slow once over and SK's tongue skated across his lips several times as he waited for Joey to call her bluff.

'Mai, would you come over here please?' Joey's voice revealed nothing.

With the same cocky little walk as before, Mai did as she was told. When she arrived in front of him Joey pulled her into a hug.

'I'm sorry Mai, can you ever forgive me?'

His words caused Heart's face to fall in horror. Her eyes turned towards Mind who simply shook her head as though she simply couldn't believe what she was hearing. Anger spread across Soul's face and he jumped onto Mai's back and attempted to prise her away from Joey.

'Joey, help me,' the fear in Mai's voice was so fake it grated on every single one of SK's nerves.

'Of course,' Joey flicked an energy ball into his hand and threw it at Soul, causing him to fall off Mai and reel in pain. 'SK,' he turned his eyes towards him, 'I need you to help me tie them up.'

'Tie who up,' SK's tongue skated across his lips, 'Mai and Catilin, or Heart, Mind and Soul?'

'Heart, Mind and Soul of course.'

'You can't be serious.'

'I am.'

'But…?'

'Do as you're told SK, this is a direct order so you're not allowed to disobey.'

'Joey, you can't be serious,' Duke stared at him. 'What the hell is wrong with you?'

'Nothing's wrong with me Duke, I'm simply doing what must be done.'

'I can't believe I'm hearing this.'

'Neither can I,' SK took half a step back. 'It's such an obvious trap; how the hell can you fall for it?'

'SK I thought I asked you to help me tie them up,' Joey met and held his gaze. 'You're not disobeying me, are you?'

'I...' SK shook his head, 'I think I have to.'

'Are you sure?' Joey cocked an eyebrow at him. 'You know I'll have to punish you if you are, right?'

'I don't care. I'm not going to help you walk into such an obvious trap.'

'Okay, then I guess I'll just have to tie you up too.'

'What's wrong with you? How the hell can you allow yourself to be manipulated so easily? You're not an idiot and even a child wouldn't fall for this, so why are you?'

'You know you really shouldn't insult a Mistress like that SK, just like you shouldn't disobey one,' Joey folded his arms. 'You may not always agree with us, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't trust our judgement. We always know what we're doing. And we always trust our instincts.'

'And right now your instincts are telling you to trust these imposters?' SK swallowed hard. 'I don't even know either of them half as well as you do and I know they're fake, so why don't you?'

'You know, just for that I think I should gag you as well,' Joey rolled his eyes, 'your lack of faith is bothering me and I'm not sure how else to correct it right now.'


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

If it meant getting inside someone's head and causing them any kind of torment, Re didn't really mind following one of Gan's little plans, even after it seemed redundant. But then again the original antagonist always knew how to make things a little more interesting; so it would be interesting to see just how much he could exploit this situation knowing what he knew about them from the Face of Friendship's empathic abilities. Not that they worked for him anymore of course. Everything to do with the Passive Mistress had to be stamped out in order for him to maintain control.

Unfortunately that had also meant accepting his assigned gender. As a being which had always taken great pride in its own genderless state; to have to accept the limitations of masculinity or femininity made Re sick to his stomach. But the Face of Friendship was definitely female and the only way to stamp her out was to accept the exact opposite. But becoming male irked him, not just because his host was a poor specimen of masculinity to begin with, but because his current disguise wasn't exactly a whole lot better. If he had to be male, he wanted to be male and not one of these pitifully washed out excuses of manhood he had to choose between.

The sight of Kaiba on his own almost brought him to a stop. When they'd entered Kama Traydon they'd been able to sense the fact the group had separated out again. It didn't take a genius to work out Kaiba had been the one to stalk off on his own, no doubt tailed by that nuisance of a stalker Body. Re allowed his eyes to scan the area he was in for a few moments. He found it more than a little suspicious to find Kaiba on his own like this, but even so...

'Hey Seto, wait up,' no matter what Re couldn't let him get away.

'Tristan?' Kaiba frowned as he turned round to face him.

'Don't you just hate this place,' he stalked his way up the path towards Kaiba, 'I mean if it wasn't for that damn rule I would have died here. It's kind of a shame I didn't.'

'I thought I told you I didn't want you talking like that,' Kaiba's eye twitched a little as he studied Re's disguise. 'How did you get here anyway?'

'I just woke up here,' Re shrugged.

'I see... and how much do you think you can remember?'

'What kind of a question is that?' Re laughed and stared at him like he was mad. 'How much do I think I can remember about what, exactly? I already told you I don't know how I got here.'

'Okay,' Kaiba folded his arms, 'how long do you think you've been here for.'

'I don't know. I know I've not been awake for very long, but I could have been here for a while before that.'

'What's the last thing you remember?' Kaiba's eye twitched again as he continued to study him.

'Now that's the question you should have asked before,' he smirked. 'The last thing I remember some guy was hitting me from behind with... something.'

'Where?'

'One of the smaller rooms downstairs,' he shrugged.

'And what had you been doing before then?'

'Oh for god sake,' Re rolled his eyes and half turned away from him, 'some maniac knocked me unconscious and I'm the one you're giving the third degree to?'

'I'm just seeing how much you can remember.'

There was something in the tone of Kaiba's voice. Something Re was certain the real Tristan would know exactly how to react to. He could feel his own resolve to continue with this little act start to slip; then a fiendishly clever little idea came to him and the frustration he felt just melted away.

'I can remember all the important things,' he cocked his head to one side as he slinked his way towards Kaiba, 'like you.' He gently stroked the side of Kaiba's face before placing his hand under his chin, making sure their gazes locked for as long as possible. 'So, is anyone else here or is it just you and me?'

'Unfortunately we're not alone,' Kaiba broke the gaze and turned away from him. 'Joey, SK and Duke are all at the Sacred Huntay along with these four weirdoes.'

'Four weirdoes?' Re tried to keep his voice as light and curious as possible.

'Yeah,' Kaiba glanced back towards him, 'they call themselves the Heart, Mind, Body and Soul of Win, but I don't trust them.'

'Why not?'

'Because one of them was claiming to be you and how can he be when you're standing here right now?'

'One of them was claiming to be me?'

'Yeah, he even tried stalking me when I took off a while back. I needed to get away from Joey for a while; that dog is so dumb it gets on my nerves.'

'Where is he now? This guy claiming to be me I mean,' Re glanced around.

'I sent him packing the first chance I got. It wasn't easy though; the way he kept clinging to me, I thought I might have to file a restraining order. In fact the thought of having to see him again is really turning my stomach, but I guess I have no choice. As much as I hate to admit it, without any powers we need the others to fix this mess. I just hope those four weirdoes don't have anything to do with the Reganna.'

'The Reganna,' Re almost couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice; so they already knew about them.

'Apparently they're back and they've somehow managed to get that weakling Yugi to fill the number three spot.'

'You mean they have the Face of Friendship onboard?'

'Looks like it.'

'Huh, well isn't that a surprise.'

Re wasn't totally sure how he felt about how much they already knew about this situation. It did make him question why Kaiba was so easily falling for his little disguise; then again Kaiba wasn't exactly thinking rationally right now. Not if his little display earlier was anything to go by.

'Oh I don't know,' Kaiba shrugged, 'if any of us were going to fall under the Reganna's control, it would have to be Yugi. I mean, he's one hell of a duellist, but ever since the Face of Friendship set up home in him he's been... less than stable. In fact I'm surprise something like this didn't happen sooner.'

'Really?' Re wasn't sure if Kaiba was deliberately trying to taunt him or not.

'Yeah, I mean with all that empathic energy messing with his head, I'm surprised Re didn't show its ugly head sooner.'

'What makes you so sure its Re?' He narrowed his gaze.

'Considering the other two parts of the Reganna haven't changed, it's a reasonable assumption to make,' Kaiba met and held his gaze, 'don't you think?'

'Yeah, I do.'

'So I guess we'd better head back to the others now, right? I mean, we have to let them know those weirdoes are trouble, don't we?'

'Couldn't have said it better myself,' Re smirked at him. 'You really don't like these guys, do you?'

'Of course not, it's pretty hard to trust anyone who you can't understand or who doesn't understand you,' Kaiba shrugged again. 'And if you can't trust them you sure as hell can't like them, right?'

'_Right_.'

* * *

Duke didn't know what else he could do but stand in a motionless silence, cradling the baby Crovell as close to him as he possibly could. Everything in him wanted to scream out and warn Joey he was being deceived, but he was afraid if he did so, he'd end up tied up alongside SK and the others.

Why was Joey letting them fool him like this? Any idiot could see that they were just the Reganna in disguise. Duke may not have come up against them before, but he was more than aware of what Ahna's Glamour ability could do and, from what Catilin had told him, he knew the dark trio would stop at nothing to get what they wanted, even if all they wanted was to mess with your head. Surely Joey must know how foolish he was being.

In his arms Crovell gurgled, his large browning eyes staring questioningly up at Duke. In the time since he'd been born, Duke had wondered more than once how the hell someone like Joey could have an offspring as highly intelligent as Crovell was. But up until this point he hadn't really truly believed Joey to be an idiot in comparison. And he was an idiot if he was allowing himself to be fooled like this.

'Da da da da da,' Crovell chirped, 'da da.'

'Are you trying to tell me something?' Duke frowned down at the child.

'Da da da.'

'I don't know what you're trying to say,' he shook his head. 'You know, I understood you a whole lot better when you didn't use words.'

'Da da,' Crovell ignored him and continued to chirp happily, 'da da da da da da da.'


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

SK fidgeted uncomfortably in his binds and began contemplating what it really meant to be a Nethher Herin and not a _ghost_. Although from what he understood if he were a ghost he would be nothing more than an echo of his former self. Like a memory left behind in the world of the living to cause shivers on a warm day. The first and only time he ever asked Jay if they were _ghosts_, Jay had laughed so hard the notes of his hyena-like hysterics had haunted SK for weeks.

He'd hated that. The way Jay had reacted to him then just made him feel even more out of his depths and stupid than he already did. SK wasn't the type to blame his own neuroses on anyone else, but if he had to guess where his own current lack of confidence in his abilities had come from, he'd have pinpointed it to that exact moment in his afterlife. Still Jay had been nice enough to explain the difference between a _ghost_ and a Nethher Herin, along with why one appeared able to pass through objects whilst the other could not. And it basically all came down to the simplest of logic, _ghosts_ were imprints left behind by living people, whereas Nethher Herin was another stage of existence.

Nethher Herin were one of the two lowest forms of Higher Beings in existence, qualifying only because of their unpredictable existence span and high resistance to _mortal harm_. SK had never been totally sure what exactly _mortal harm_ was, but after the laughter he'd received just for asking about _ghosts_ he'd not really wanted to ask. The idea that your afterlife allowed you to _evolve_ somehow had been a nice comfort after the shock and change the realisation of his own death had brought about. Unfortunately it would have been more of a comfort to him if he didn't feel so totally useless all the time.

Useless. SK was useless. If he'd have been worth all the expectations and faith everybody put into him he wouldn't now be tied to a tree along with three of the four Voices of Win. But he was. He was because he was useless. Useless because death hadn't evolved him into someone who understood the intricacies of this multiverse. Useless because no matter how hard he tried he always did or said or acted in the wrong way. Useless because he was not the man he had been when he was alive. And right now... right this very second he was useless because he was not a _ghost_. Because if he were a ghost he could have slipped through these binds and freed himself.

SK gave a heavy sigh and turned his attention towards Duke. The guy was stood near the stone pedestal, shifting nervously from foot to foot. It was pretty clear from the expression on his face he was just as concerned about this situation as SK was. However he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut, it was probably the only thing keeping him from sharing SK's fate. But all it really did for SK was remind him he'd stopped being a smart guy the moment he realised he was dead.

His eyes flicked back towards Joey and the two Reganna posing as Mai and Catilin. From the moment SK and the three Voices had been tied up, conversation between them had become strangely relaxed and natural. All the weird tension which had been in Joey's voice up until that moment completely disappeared, making SK's stomach clench with dread. SK had harboured a thin ray of hope up until that point that somehow Joey was trying to fool the Reganna in the same way they were trying to fool him. But Joey was the host of the First. He had access to the First's powers. Surely he didn't need to bluff the two members of the Reganna like this; especially with SK and the Voices there to back him up.

SK felt his mind move back and forth several times and every other minute he found himself changing his mind about the whole situation. He wanted to believe Joey was just bluffing them; that would make a whole lot of sense after all. The First wasn't an idiot and even a child could see through the Reganna's weak imitations. But at the same time why would Joey take such a huge risk? What did he have to gain from pretending to be caught in the Reganna's trap? It didn't make sense. Neither scenario made sense and all it was really doing was hurting his head.

His tongue began darting back and forth across his lips to a level which even annoyed him. SK had been more than aware of his own neuroses before he died, all death had really done was made them worse. No, that wasn't fair. Death hadn't made them worse; it had just made them a whole lot more obvious by plunging him headfirst into more situations which caused him anxiety. This whole mess was just one more situation in a whole long list of situations which made the palms of his hands sweat.

To make matters worse Kaiba chose the exact moment SK's brain felt like it was slowly starting to fry itself to arrive back. Only he wasn't accompanied by the rational sight of Body. No, he was accompanied by another Reganna fake, this one masquerading around as Tristan. The sight was enough to make SK feel physically sick. What the hell was wrong with the two of them if they couldn't tell whether or not the people in front of them were the ones they cared about or cheep and manipulative fakes?

'Tristan,' Joey smiled at him, 'I didn't expect to see you here as well.'

'I didn't expect to see myself here again either,' the phony Tristan smiled back at him, 'but here I am.'

'So I see,' his eyes shifted towards Kaiba, 'which would mean Body is where exactly?'

Kaiba and Joey's gazes locked for a split second before Kaiba shrugged, folded his arms and half turned away.

'Clearly that good for nothing stalker is hiding somewhere.'

'You know, Catilin seems to think Mokuba is responsible for the Voices,' Joey pressed his lips together.

'Really?'

'Yeah, she's also accusing him of being insane, so is there something you'd like to share with the class rich boy?'

'I guess there's no point in hiding it anymore. Mokuba was badly traumatised by his visit to the future. I've been quite worried about him, but I never would have thought he'd be capable of something like this.'

'An elder sibling never wants to see the bad in their younger sibling, no matter how obvious it might be,' for half a second Joey's eyes appeared to focus knowingly on Tristan, but before the look could be fully registered he turned his head away. So do you have any idea where Body might be hiding?'

'I sent him back here,' Kaiba shook his head, 'that was the last I saw of him.'

'Okay,' Joey made eye contact with Kaiba again, 'he'll probably turn up sooner or later, right?'

'Right.'

'So exactly what are we supposed to do in the mean time?' The fake Tristan rolled his eyes. 'Because I really hate being bored.'

'Oh, I'm sorry, are we keeping you from killing yourself right now?'

Joey's words were so causally blunt they made SK choke with surprise. He seriously couldn't believe he'd just said that and from the look of the others faces nor could they.

'What... what did you just say?' The fake's expression said it all.

'I think he just asked you if we were keeping you from a suicide attempt,' Kaiba casually began studying his nails. 'I mean, that was a little bit unfair, you did just say you were bored and I'm not totally sure how the two things correlate, but... Wheeler is an idiot after all.'

'Wait, you're going to let him talk to me like that?' The fake Tristan stared at Kaiba.

'Why wouldn't he? It's not as though he actually cares about you,' Joey laughed and rolled his eyes. 'I mean, seriously, why would he care about you? You're a psychopath.'

'No, psychopath really isn't the right word,' Kaiba pulled a face, 'I think I like sadist better.'

'Are you crazy?' Now it was Mai's turn to stare at Joey. 'Tristan isn't a sadist and he's not a psychopath either.'

'Oh, we know,' Kaiba smirked, 'I mean, do you really think I would have spent all that time and effort rehabilitating Tristan if there was nothing worth saving?'

'Of course not, so why are you...?'

'Do I look like an idiot who was born yesterday?' Kaiba cut her off. 'Do you really think I'm so ignorant I wouldn't be able to tell the difference?'

'Tell the difference?' Mai took half a step back and reached for something around her neck.

'Uh-uh-uh,' Joey wagged his finger at her before holding up the axe pendent now in his possession, 'nobody said you could bring weapons into this fight.'

'So it's probably a good job Body doesn't count as a weapon then,' Kaiba lowered his head slightly, right as Body emerged from the shadows to take the fake Tristan captive.

'What exactly was my mistake,' the fake Tristan made eye contact with Kaiba.

'Putting on Tristan's face,' Kaiba's voice was deathly calm, 'and thinking you could get away with it.'


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

Angrily the fake Mai made a swipe for the pendent, but Joey pulled it back and walked cockily away from her.

'Really Mai,' Joey smirked, 'is that any way for a pregnant woman to behave?'

'Of course to answer that honestly, she would have to actually be a pregnant woman first,' Kaiba shared in Joey's cocky amusement.

'That is true, although Ahna was a pregnant woman at one stage. Do you think that means Gan was too?'

'I'm not sure you'd really class Gan as being a woman,' Kaiba half lowered his head, 'unless of course the Reganna have finally decided to conform to gender.'

'That would be far too simple for them, don't you think,' a sly grin filled Joey's face. 'I mean, gender would make them like us and the last thing they would want to be is like us.'

'True, although having a child by one of us seems to be no problem for them at all. I always knew they loved us really.'

'Shut up,' the fake Mai flicked a black energy ball into her hand and aimed it at Kaiba. 'This won't kill you, but since you're powerless right now it will hurt like hell.'

'Are you sure about that?' Kaiba gave a half laugh as he flicked a white energy ball into his own hand.

'How...?'

'A little gift courtesy of Body,' he threw the ball at her.

Gritting her teeth, the fake Mai threw her own energy ball back at him. The two projectiles collided midair causing a small explosion as the cancelled each other out. The explosion caused the air to whip around them for a few moments and instinctively Duke pulled the baby Crovell closer to himself. Things were about to get really dangerous and there was just no way he'd let any of them hurt the child.

'I'm just going to go out on a limb here and say this whole Glamour thing was your idea Gan,' Kaiba fixed his gaze on the fake Mai, 'it's certainly your style. I'm assuming you were aiming for some convolute divide and conquer strategy here, I mean, it is your specialty after all.'

'Naturally,' the fake Mai struck a dramatic pose. 'I should have known he was playing into our hands too easily,' she flicked a look into Joey's direction, 'at what point did you figure it out?'

'The second you arrived,' Joey smirked as he lowered his head slightly. 'So what exactly was your plan? Make us lose faith in Win? Do you really think donning a few disguises would do that?'

'We weren't fooled even in the slightest, but we knew we couldn't take you on alone,' Kaiba flicked another energy ball into his hand. 'Playing along allowed us to buy a little time to figure out exactly how we were going to deal with you.'

'I always did hate telepathy,' the fake Tristan gritted his teeth, before flicking his head towards the other two imposters, 'grab the brat and run.'

Duke did his best to protect Crovell, but the Catilin fake was too swift for him, somehow managing to take the baby out of his arms without Duke letting go. He made a loud, indignant gasp as he watch the fake Tristan break free of Body's grip and all three Reganna members vanish from sight. It all happened so quickly Duke almost couldn't believe it had happened at all. For a few long moments there was a deep and unnerving silence as all eyes turned towards Joey and Kaiba.

'So... you knew they were fakes,' SK's tongue skated across his lips, 'you knew they were fakes and you just played along with them? Couldn't you have found some way of telling me you knew they were fakes?'

'I did,' Joey cocked an eyebrow at him, 'it's not my fault you weren't able to pick up on it.'

'But... I don't...'

'It was the smell,' Joey cut him off, 'the Glamour ability doesn't cover a person's smell. As a Silkoneon herself Ahna was more than aware of this, that's why when she was running around as the copycat duellist she always did her best to mask her scent. But Gan is arrogant and clearly ignorant to the sensitivity of a wolf's nose. I knew who they were the second they entered Kama Traydon, but since I couldn't be totally sure what they were up to I couldn't let them know anything, not until I had a little surprise of my own to back it up.'

'It's a good job telepathy was the first power to reassert itself,' Kaiba tilted his head in thought, 'or else your behaviour might have raised some suspicions.'

'You think after all this time I don't know how to project my thoughts and carry on a normal conversation,' Joey narrowed his gaze.

'That's exactly what I'm saying,' he smirked, 'and as of yet I haven't been proven wrong.'

'Err... okay,' SK blinked and licked his lips at the same time, 'I have a question, why did the Reganna retreat just now?'

'Because Re hates failure,' Kaiba shrugged, 'especially when it's someone else's plan.'

'You're just lucky Re didn't realise you were onto him before you made it back to the Sacred Huntay; it could have been a little messy else,' Joey pulled a face.

'I could have defended myself,' he waved his right hand in a dismissive manner, 'besides, Body was never too far away.'

'Yeah, I bet he wasn't.'

Kaiba glared at him for a moment, before shrugging and turning away.

'So what do you think they want the kid for anyway?'

'He's Gan's son just as much as he is mine,' Joey sighed as he freed SK and the others from their binds, 'and we all know just how powerful he is, so it doesn't take a genius to figure it out.'

'Well, at least we have the Axe again now. It doesn't exactly swing things in our favour, but it will help out a lot, especially when we recreate Win.'

'Wait, wait, wait,' SK licked his lips again as he rubbed his now freed wrists, 'since when did we have the Axe?'

'Since I apprehended this from Gan,' Joey held up the axe shaped pendent.

'Um… Joey, hate to tell you this, but… last I checked the axe was a little bigger than that.' Duke cocked an eyebrow at him.

'Did you seriously believe people were the only things which could be disguised through the Glamour ability?' Joey rolled his eyes.

'I... I hadn't even considered it.'

'You wouldn't, but for someone like Gan this level of Glamouring is just as instinctive as it would be for the Face of Friendship.'

'What do you mean?' SK frowned.

'Sometimes I wonder if you pay attention to anything,' Kaiba shook his head. 'You were there the last time the Reganna _introduced themselves_, so you should remember the way they kept referring to the Mistresses when they were giving their names. That wasn't just for dramatic effect or whatever; it was to remind us of their _Opposing Names_.'

'Opposing Name?'

'Re, Gan and Na were the names we gave to them,' Joey gave a heavy sigh, 'but they were not the names they gave themselves. Both sides refer to these other names as the _Opposing Names_ because that's what they are.'

'Okay…'

'You still don't get it do you?' Kaiba folded his arms impatiently. 'The Face of Friendship is known for taking on the face of someone's greatest friend; she is the master of the Glamour ability; its one of her specialist skills and therefore something the two of us can't do. Ahna is Gan and Gan is also a master of the Glamour ability, which is why her Opposing Name is the Face of Foe.'

'Now you're just making it sound like Re can heal and Na is telepathic,' Joey shot him a look, 'it's not as simple as that, mostly because it's not strictly speaking true. Not all our abilities are reflected in them. It is true Gan and the Face of Friendship have the most in common, which is why it's so easy to make the comparison when using the title the Face of Foe.'

'Sorry, I didn't realise you were going to get all pedantic about it.'

'And you're forgetting just how much our _Helper_ needs things spelled out to him. Why else do you think he hasn't even noticed that we've taken over yet?'

'Now that is a good point,' Kaiba cocked his head to one side.

'I hadn't not noticed,' SK's tongue skated across his lips, 'I just didn't think you needed me to state the obvious.'

'Wait, are you saying they're the First and the Pure right now?' Duke felt a mild level of confusion move through him. 'But... they don't have the white glaze over their eyes.'

'That's because we don't actually need it,' Kaiba smirked, 'we only use it normally for the benefit of those surrounding our hosts or if we know we're going to need to exceed a certain level of power.'

'Okay... but doesn't Joey's voice also go all weird and multi-tonal when the First is in control?'

'You're right, it used to,' Joey pulled a face, 'it was the way my voice sounded when I first came into existence, but do you really think if I learnt to control that defect once before I wouldn't be able to learn how to again?'

'I guess that makes sense, but...'

'What are Re and Na's opposing names?' SK jumped in before Duke could finish what he was saying.

'The First Darkness and the Unpure,' Joey pressed his lips together, 'like I said before, the two of them have less in common with the two of us than Gan and the Face of Friendship, but that doesn't mean their _Opposing Names_ aren't similar to ours.'

'I see...' SK licked his lips yet again, 'but what about the Face of Friendship? Isn't she being controlled by Re right now? Does that make her... them a balance?'

'No,' Kaiba's voice was firm, 'true balances can't be created through artificial methods. In fact they rarely occur in nature and definitely can't occur when the two sides are fighting against each other. It may not look like it, but right now there is a power struggle going on inside Yugi's body; it's just unfortunate the Face of Friendship won't be able to win without help.'

'Our sister can be saved,' Joey's lips twitched into a smile, 'and we will be the ones to save her, my son and the rest of the multiverse.'

'Okay, so you have a plan then?' SK met Joey's gaze.

'Yes we do and you already know what it is,' he turned his gaze towards Body, 'we recreate Win.'


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

As soon as their Jump had ended, Re had Gan up against the wall with his hand around her throat. With a mixture of uncertain excitement and devilish curiosity, Na rocked the child he was still holding from side to side and waited to see what his siblings were going to do next. For a long time there was nothing but a tense silence, then Gan gave a choked sounding half laugh and placed her hand on top of Re's.

'So the bonds between the Mistresses and their Wins were a little stronger than I anticipated; that doesn't mean what just happened was a total failure.'

'We lost the Axe,' Re's voice contained a deep and penetrating snarl.

'But we kept the child,' Gan remained calm, 'and without the child they can't use the Axe to its full potential. This may not be an ideal situation Re, but things could be a lot worse.'

'Hmm.'

'Come on now Re, if you really wanted to hurt me over this you would have done it already. So why don't you just let go of me so I can work my magic on the brat. We all know his connection to that incomplete idiot is strong, so we must make sure his connection to me is stronger.'

'Incomplete idiot?' Re's face pulled into a frown.

'Oh don't tell me you didn't notice, even without my host's knowledge I'd still have been able to tell.'

Re was silent for a moment, before grunting and pulling away from her. Without hesitation Gan made her way towards Na and took the child back out of his arms.

'I know you hate waiting around Re, but we really need to take our time on this one,' Gan's eyes carefully examined the child, 'the little brat must accept us completely and until he does...'

'I get the idea, but don't keep me waiting around too long Gan or I might just have to finish what I started and punish you for your failure.'

* * *

Almost as soon as Win's name had been mentioned, the white glaze appeared over Joey and Kaiba's eyes. This caused the foursome to start dancing around joyfully, as SK found himself edging closer to Duke.

'I can't wait to see what they're about to do.'

'But... I thought you saw it last time,' Duke frowned at him.

'The First had sent me off after the Pure last time,' SK shook his head, 'I got to see the end result, but that was about it. I've always wanted to know exactly what they did though.'

'Why?'

'I don't know, curiosity maybe,' SK's tongue skated across his lips. 'Or maybe it's just one more way I feel inadequate, like the Mistresses don't trust me or something. Sorry, that didn't make much sense, did it?'

'No, but I guess I can understand where you're coming from there,' Duke pulled a face, 'they don't always have a lot of respect in the way they talk to you. I don't want to sound like I'm patronising you or anything, but... well I do feel sorry for you sometimes.'

'Thanks... I think.'

'Do you two mind?' The sound of Joey's voice half made SK jump.

'Uh... sorry,' he shot him an apologetic smile, before indicating to Duke the two of them should move off the edge of the Huntay circle and onto the earth beyond.

The two of them then watched as Kaiba and Joey stopped the four Voices from dancing and gathered them in a huddle in the central circle of the Huntay. The two of them then took up positions in opposing corners of the clearing. Joey was the first to start chanting, causing the Elemental Stones to lift from the ground and start glowing. After a couple of minutes of this the foursome themselves started to emit a bright glow, obscuring their individual features. It was at this point Kaiba joined in the chanting. The light from both the stones and the foursome intensified to near blinding proportions so much so Duke and SK were both forced to look away.

Gritting his teeth and not wanting to miss out on whatever was about to happen, SK forced himself to look back into the blinding light. Somehow he was able to make out four silhouettes in the centre of it. These silhouettes were slowly blurring together whilst the light around them pulsated wildly. After what felt like an eternity the four beings pulled into one. Instantaneously the chanting stopped, the light dropped away and SK found his jaw dropping open as he stared at the results.

He didn't know what he'd been expecting Win to look like exactly, but this wasn't it. With the exception of a single streak of blond down the fringe on the left hand side, the guy who stood before them looked exactly like Body. Well maybe not exactly like him, because this guy had a certain irresistible radiance the youth had lacked. In one swift flicking of his head, the guy revealed the dark side of his face; whatever resemblance Body might have had to Tristan here, Win completely lacked. Both sides of his face matched perfectly, creating this godly kind of beauty enhanced by the soft, yet masculine deep brown of his eyes. One look at his face and you knew he knew how attractive he was and yet there was no arrogance to him, only a single, irresistible draw.

SK wasn't sure if this made him feel uncomfortable or not. He'd never given much thought to his own sexuality in life and in death he didn't really need to; but this was the first time he found himself this drawn to anyone and he wasn't totally sure what it meant.

'It's not just me right,' Duke's voice was as soft as it was edgy, 'you're attracted to that guy too, aren't you?'

'Yeah,' SK nodded, not sure whether or not he was relieved by Duke's admission.

'Well, I guess he was the first male in existence,' Duke gave a nervous laugh, 'so it only stands to reason he would be... perfect. But... I can't help but wonder if all men were design to be as attractive as him.'

'I don't think it's possible. Nature might try to recreate him, but honestly... I don't think it's possible. You got it right with what you said before, he's perfect.'

'You know I have excellent hearing too,' Win shot a knowing look in their direction, revealing the smooth, silkily soft, lightly melodic and defiantly masculine tones of his voice as he did, 'especially when people are talking about me.'

It didn't matter how many times SK's tongue skated across his lips, he couldn't stop the heat rising up through his cheeks and turning him red.

'Are... are you the... err…' SK gave a nervous half cough, half laugh, 'the... um... true… true face of Win?'

'I most certainly am,' he flashed SK a winning smile. 'It's just a shame it's been locked away from the multiverse for so long, don't you think? Or does that make me sound vain?'

'I... I don't think you're vain, not at all,' Duke gave a nervous little giggle, 'I… I think… I mean… I... I really wish I could stop turning into a teenage girl right now, because this is just a little disturbing.'

'I understand your distress; sexuality is such a well defined notion in your reality. But really Duke, this is hardly the worst thing you've ever been through.'

'You… you know my name?'

'Of course; just because I haven't been fully complete in a long time, doesn't mean I haven't been aware. After all, my fragments have continued to exist, gathering knowledge, memories, lives of their own. I know everything they know. Feel everything they feel. I am them, or, rather, they are me.'

Win's gaze shifted towards Joey and Kaiba, who were still stood edgily in their corners of the Huntay area. There was something weird and tense about them and it took a few minutes for SK to work out what it was. The last time Win stood before them he had no memory of himself, so the fact the Mistresses were trapped within male host bodies didn't matter. But this time not only was the Win stood before them a true Adonis, he'd also seen the true faces of the Mistresses. He knew what they looked like and just how truly beautiful they had been before their mortalisation.

When the Mistresses had first been mortalised, SK had asked them why they'd chosen male hosts. The explanation they had given had been more than reasonable; after all it was the souls they were compatible with and the bodies those souls came in were little more than a shell. Gender hadn't made a difference to them back then, apart from as a strange source of amusement, but now...

'I never thought I would return to find my girls changed so much,' Win slowly made his way towards Joey, his words making Joey hang his head in shame. 'You've been through a lot in my absence, so much pain, so much suffering,' he placed a hand under Joey's chin, lifting his head back up towards him. 'Life, this last year especially, has been far from easy for you. But you have come through it as you always do,' he flicked his gaze towards Kaiba. 'You are strong, you are powerful and it is that which makes you beautiful. Aye, you have changed, but you are still my girls.'

These words caused Joey to throw his arms around Win's neck. Within seconds Kaiba had appeared next to them, turning the embrace into a three way one. Inside SK felt strangely sick with envy. He knew it was wrong to feel that way and out of respect for the Mistresses he did his best to suppress those feelings, but he couldn't help it. There was something about Win which made him unnaturally attractive and almost impossible to resist. Still he had to find some way of focusing his mind and ignoring all unwanted thoughts. After all, they had Win now so the real question was; what were they supposed to do with him?


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44**

'Just how much longer is this going to take,' Re's voice seethed with more than mild levels of anger. 'I told you I didn't want you to keep me waiting around for too long.'

'Maybe we should play whilst we wait Re,' Na clapped his hands together, 'there are so many games we could play right now.'

'No,' Gan glared at him, 'there will be no playing for either of you. Not until after we get what we want.'

'Why do you have to be such a spoilsport?' Na pouted. 'I'm bored. Re's bored. We could have so much fun here. Why can't we play a little?'

'Because I say so.'

'Since when were you our leader little sibling?' Re glared at her.

'Since I was the first one holding a child,' Gan stared challengingly back at him, 'or had you forgotten how essential to our plan this is?'

'Your plan is ridicules and you know it.'

'No, my plan is genius and you're just sore because you didn't think of it first.'

'Like you actually thought of it,' Re brought his face as close to Gan's as he could, 'it was all pure coincidence the first time, an accident even.'

'The first one might have been by chance, but this little brat wasn't. And considering just how powerful he is, I don't exactly need anyone or anything else,' a self-satisfied smirk pulled across her face. 'Don't you get it Re, as long as I have _this_ child in my arms, I don't _need_ either of you, but you still need me. So for now that makes me the leader and if I say you're not allowed to play, then you're not allowed to play.'

* * *

'Okay,' Win took a deep breath in as his eyes surveyed the four of them, 'since I was recreated for a reason, I doubt any of you will object to me taking control here.'

'Of course not,' Kaiba smiled.

'So I guess I need to start with an explanation then. After all Soul didn't exactly tell you everything you needed to know. But then you can't exactly blame him, explaining things doesn't come naturally to him.'

'He said something about turning darkness into light,' Joey pressed his lips together in thought.

'I know what he said,' Win tilted his head to one side, 'he is a part of me right now, remember?'

'Sorry.'

'I'm not angry at you; I know you like to have some semblance of control over a situation. And what Soul told you is exactly what needs to happen, because if darkness becomes light then it's no longer darkness; if it's no longer darkness then it's no longer a threat to us. Of course the Reganna spread themselves much thinner than I did, so once we know what we're going to do works we'll need to spread the information to the other Realms and Plains as best we can.'

'What do you mean?' SK licked his lips.

'Stopping the Reganna in this reality will not be the end of the story. Not by a long shot. It will mean we will probably never have to deal with them again personally, but there will be others in other realities who will. And since they won't have the Mistresses or me around to help them we need to know turning darkness into light really does work. That way we can tell them what they need to do and let them figure out the how.'

'Okay...' SK's felt more than a little confused, 'but I don't understand; why has it taken you so long to figure out that you need to turn the darkness into light?'

'This information came to me from a future version of Body who passed it onto Soul, before Soul made it back to his own time. Body was living in a world were the light was dying, so it didn't take him long to figure out why. Once he had he made it his mission to try and reverse the process somehow, but all his attempts failed; the darkness had spread itself too far by that point. His only hope was to get the information back here to a time before the infection really took hold and hope that somehow we would be able to stop the spread and cure the multiverse.'

'You make the darkness sound like some kind of disease,' SK shook his head, 'like evil is little more than an illness which needs to be stamped out.'

'You're confusing darkness with evil,' Win took several steps towards him, 'you perceive the Reganna as being evil because they are destructive, they lust after death, misery and torture, they revel in cruelty, anarchy and chaos and you do not. In truth the Reganna are everything you have been told to believe is evil, but only because you have been told to believe these things are evil. Back when all this began we knew better,' he glanced towards Joey and Kaiba, 'or at least we thought we did. We tried our best to nurture them, but the truth is all we did was patronise them. They reacted by magnifying their destructive capabilities to the point where we had no choice but to stop them and deem these traits they possess as evil. But evil and darkness are not the same thing.'

'Err... you do know you just made them sound like the exact same thing, right?' SK stared at him.

'That's because I have a tendency to tangent,' Win gave a light laugh, 'what I meant to say was that evil is a choice of behaviour, whereas darkness is just a state of being.'

'Then why didn't you just say that?' SK licked his lips again. 'Why go through that whole... tangent?'

'It's just the way I am.'

'Are you sure you're supposed to behave like this?' SK frowned at him, before turning his gaze towards Kaiba and Joey. 'Are you sure he's supposed to behave like this?'

'Is there something wrong with the way I'm behaving?' Win was suddenly right in front of SK with his hands on his shoulders.

'Yes,' SK drew out the word as much as he dared.

'And what is that exactly?'

'I... I... uh...' SK's tongue skated across his lips. 'I don't know; I just get this feeling something's not quite right about you.'

'And so soon after you were thinking I was the most attractive man you'd ever seen,' Win smirked, before pulling away from him and turning his attention back towards the others. 'Now, we need to discuss Crovell.'

'What?' Joey frowned, clearly as caught out by the change in conversation as the rest of them.

'We need to talk about Crovell, he is the only thing standing between us and assured victory right now.'

'Impossible,' Joey shook his head, 'I mean, he's my son.'

'Yes and he's also Gan's,' Win folded his arms. 'Your youngest son was born a perfect balance, meaning he can be easily influenced by them.'

'Wait, youngest son?' SK licked his lips again.

'Oh come on,' Duke rolled his eyes, 'even I know that one. Remember he's talking _just_ about the First, not the First and Joey.'

'Set, Du and Sta,' he groaned, 'I never actually thought about Crovell being related to them before.'

'Truth be told I only put two and two together because of something Catilin told me,' Duke nervously scratched the back of his neck. 'Although at the time I found myself more... weirded out at the thought of Sta being Du and Set's father and brother.'

'You can't apply your mortal sensibilities to us,' Joey glared at him, 'we are not obliged to follow your rules or codes of conduct. Besides, you have no idea what happened back then.'

'You slept with your own son,' SK stared at Joey, 'it doesn't matter how or why it happened, it still happened. More than once considering the fact Du and Sta aren't twins by any stretch of the imagination. You may have different sensibilities to us, but you can't just say we have no idea what happened like our feelings on the matter don't count.'

'You're feelings on the matter don't count,' Win shot him a look. 'And we're also getting sidetracked; I believe I was trying to explain why Crovell in their hands is so much of a threat to us.' He turned his attention back towards Joey and Kaiba. 'Which of you has the axe pendent now?'

Joey held it up for him.

'You mind?'

'Go ahead.'

Slowly Win passed his hand over the pendent, transforming it back into the Elemental Axe.

'The advantage of having the combined power of three women,' Win smirked. 'Well now at least we know we're dealing with the real thing and why the Reganna haven't attacked us yet and probably won't for quite some time.'

'How can you be so sure?' Joey's glazed eyes studied him curiously.

'My dear girl, knowledge and power might help a being control the weapon, but this Axe was design for one person and one person only. And only he can use it to its full extent, with no nasty side effects.'

'Wait, are you saying that person is Crovell?' SK felt his jaw drop open. 'But... he's just a baby.'

'Aye and a pretty powerful one at that. Or hadn't you been paying attention.'

'The Elemental Axe is a deceptive name,' Kaiba gave an amused half laugh, 'because it doesn't just harness the power of the Eight Elementals, it controls all Ten Orders of Power.'

'Ten Orders of Power?' Duke frowned.

'Ohpayo, Elta, Flayer, Riana, Gera, Wai, Ayrna, Sli, Strek and Reama,' the words rolled out of his mouth. 'The weapon is a balance to be wielded by other balances.'

'But wait, doesn't that mean you and Na should be able to use it without side effects too?' SK frowned.

'No, not to its full extent,' he shook his head. 'We may have the balance needed to keep the weapon in check, but we don't have the power to unlock the weapons full potential. You see whoever designed the Elemental Axe had only one user in mind. And that user was the Blue Wolf of Chaos. That user was Crovell Lutoni.'


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**

As Covo slowly began to rouse, he became aware of two things. The first was that he was lying on something hard. The second was that a source of bright light was shining directly down onto him. A loud groan escaped him as he placed his hands over his face and tried to remember how he'd ended up... wherever the hell it was he'd ended up. Somewhere in his head he could remember feeling very afraid and running as though his life depended on it and then... then there was just a huge gap in his memory.

Lowering his hands from his face, he opened his eyes and blinked blearily up at the light source above him. It appeared to be an electric street lamp, only it was attached to a wall and was nowhere near as high up as a street lamp would have been. He rolled onto his side and blinked away the coloured splodges which had burnt themselves onto his retina. He then spent a few minutes letting his mind go back over everything he could remember in the hopes he'd be able to work out what the hell was going on. The first thing he was hit with was just how tired he was; tired because he'd been up most of the night before waiting to see if Joey would return. He hadn't, leaving Covo and Ahna with little else they could do but check to see if Mai was okay. Mai was in the hospital, something to do with fainting spells and Joey was off in the arms of a mysterious blonde.

Covo found himself groaning again, this time louder than before. He hadn't wanted to remember thinking Joey was a complete and utter jerk. He hadn't wanted to remember it because he thought calling SK and Jay in would be a good idea. Because Joey was the First and Mai was his Win and it would take one hell of a force to break them apart. The blonde had to be someone important and powerful; that was the information they'd left with SK and Jay before returning to the Southern Palace. And that was when Ahna started having trouble with...

'Crovell,' the word gasped out of him as he sprung up into a sitting position.

The sudden motion caused his head to spin more than slightly as his eyes darted about searching for the precious infant. He was nowhere to be seen. Panic forced Covo to his feet and he began to desperately search the surrounding area, hoping... no praying the baby was hidden away somewhere safe. But somehow he knew he wouldn't be. Flashes of memory were returning to him now. Memories which told him he'd be better off trying to figure out where he was than where Crovell might be.

Unfortunately for him he'd spent his first seven months on Sil in the Temple of Mov. Most of his homeland was completely unfamiliar to him. All stumbling around blindly really told him was just how lost he actually was. It was hopeless. Well maybe not completely hopeless; he still had all his Elemental abilities to rely on. Covo gritted his teeth and wished that thought hadn't occurred to him. Him and his Elemental abilities weren't exactly friends. That was the problem with being the Interpretive twin; you had a better understanding of how your powers worked, but less skill when it came to using them.

Covo took a deep breath in and began evaluating his options. He could Jump somewhere he knew, except at his skill level, not really knowing where he was to begin with, Jumping could end up getting him more lost and not less. He could turn into his Sintoy, after all he knew for fact he was in a built up area and if he walked around as a stag for long enough someone was bound to notice. But that would probably end up with him being ridiculed for not being able to Jump properly.

He gave a heavy sigh and focused his mind on the one and only skill he knew he was good at. A skill known as Earthen Calling, or at least that was its translated name. All he needed was an exposed patch of earth and he could work out exactly where he was in no time. There was just one problem; the area he was in was completely paved over.

'Okay,' he nodded slowly to himself, 'this isn't completely unsalvageable, all I have to do is leave this area and walk around for a bit. Eventually I'm either going to recognise where I am, or I'm going to come across a plot of earth I can use. '

As Covo started making his way forward he knew in his heart what he was really looking for. It wasn't a plot of earth and it wasn't some clue as to his location. The real thing he was searching for, the one thing he knew more than anything he had to come across was Crovell. Because with Ahna acting the way she was, there was no telling what kind of danger he was in.

* * *

'Okay, this might be a stupid question, but... why don't we just destroy the Axe?' SK's tongue skated across his lips. 'I mean, no Axe means no ultimate power for either side, right? That makes Crovell less of a threat and the Reganna easier to deal with.'

'It would also get rid of any chance you have of seeing Mai, Mokuba, Catilin and Tristan walking around again,' Win cocked his head to one side.

'I'm sorry, what? I thought all we needed for that was for the Mistresses to reverse their combination spell.'

'This isn't like last time. I'm not some hybrid of spirits containing separate entities within a whole. I am not Win Tristan. I am Win Favour, made up of my true parts with only a small amount of contamination thrown in for good measure. The Voices aren't completely separate entities like the Nethher Herin of your friends were; they were separate parts of one entity. Separate parts of me. It's going to take a lot more power than the Mistresses have to pull the parts back out again.'

'And you didn't think to warn us about that until now?' SK stared at him.

'You needed me and this was the only way you could have me,' Win's shrugged and turned carelessly away from him. 'I don't see what you're complaining about, I already told you there's a way of separating us back out again.'

'Yeah, a way which involves a baby and a magical Axe,' SK shook his head. 'Doesn't that seem a little bit risky to you?'

'I was created to be a risk taker,' he flashed SK a winning smile, 'just ask my makers if you don't believe me.'

'No, I'm pretty sure I can take your word for it,' SK rolled his eyes, feeling less and less enamoured with the guy every passing second. 'So what exactly is the plan here? Do we go after the Reganna? Do we wait for them to come to us? What?'

'No, actually we wait for Covo to find them.'

'What?' Duke laughed in surprise.

'We wait for Covo to find the Reganna; after all, his burnout should be wearing off by now.'

'I'm sorry his what?'

'His burnout,' Win gave an embarrassed half laugh, 'sorry, I mean, his emotional burnout. See the Reganna didn't need to attack him in order to take Crovell, Covo kind of... passed out from too much fear. Sure it was a risk, but one I'm more than happy Heart made. Because Covo is now primed and ready to act as the one and only person who can distract Gan long enough to potentially get Crovell back from her.'

'Okay, wait just a second here,' SK tried his hardest to stop his tongue from skating across his lips more than once in frustration, but failed, 'you're sending Covo... Covo, the guy with a limited power level and no real way of defending himself in against the Reganna, who the first time any of them appeared in this reality had no problem slaughtering every single one of the Mistresses' Guardians...'

'Well that's not quite true, Re actually got one of the Guardians to slaughter the rest, leaving only him and the then Helper, by which of course I mean Jay.'

'That's not the point,' SK gritted his teeth, 'you've still sent him up against a trio of psychopaths who probably won't hesitate in killing him.

'Oh no, they'll definitely hesitate. Or at least Gan will. The Reganna don't have as much control over their hosts as you might think. I doubt Covo would be alive right now else.'

'You doubt, but you don't know for sure, right?'

'Nobody can ever know anything for sure SK,' Win flashed him another one of his winning smiles, only this time it felt more forced somehow.

SK could feel his eye start to twitch as his tongue made several passes across his lips. Whatever initial attraction he'd felt towards the guy was gone now. Win was nothing but a flippant risk taker with a limited capacity to care about the safety of others.

'You don't trust me, do you SK,' there was something almost too cocky about the way Win asked that question. 'Well I don't see you coming up with a better plan.'

'It's not like I've been given much of a chance to think of one,' SK turned away from him. 'And I don't see how you can be perfectly happy just sending Covo off to his death like that.'

'I'm not sending him off to his death, Ahna wouldn't allow it. I told you, the Reganna don't have as much control over their hosts as you think. Trust me if they did Covo would be dead by now.'

'But what if you're wrong?'

'Then I'm wrong,' he shrugged, 'but I don't think I will be.' Win's face filled with another of his winning smiles, this time returning to its more natural state. 'Come on SK, I'm feeling lucky so you should too.'


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46**

'The Temple of Set?' A deep frown pulled its way across Covo's face. 'That's impossible; how the hell did I get here? I mean, it's about as far away from Kama Traydon as you can get, whilst still being in Sil. This is just... impossible.'

The large structure which stood before him was a combination of the Odraian Temple which had stood on Earth and the smaller Silkoneon counterpart which had been created on Sil. All of the Temples which now existed were a combination of the two cultures efforts and had come about as part of the Disconnection. Covo wasn't exactly sure why Lillyannu had felt the need to make something like this happen when she was hiding the two symbiotic civilisations, but he did know most of those who'd gone through the reawakening appreciated it.

There were eight temples which had ended up with this combined treatment, even though there were more than eight temples or buildings of religious significance on both Earth and Sil. But it was only the temples dedicated to the eight gods which needed to be combined in this manner. The reason for this being that the Odraians only worshipped eight gods, whereas the Silkoneons also paid homage to the Higher Beings. This social difference was probably the biggest sticking point between the Odraians and the Silkoneons, just because of the universally acknowledge belief that collectively worshipping something made it a god. For the Odraians though the Tenth Order only had room for eight true gods; everything else, regardless of its importance, was little more than a Higher Being and that included the Mistresses themselves, something Covo had always found baffling.

Having said that the Mistresses were given more of an acknowledgement by the Odraians than any other important Higher Beings. They even had their own chamber in the Temple of Set for those Odraians with an inclination to pay homage to them to visit. The Silkoneons had their own Temple dedicated to the Mistresses and the Odraians had a single room. It spoke volumes about the differences between the two cultures, although Covo was more than grateful of the fact it was a minor sticking point and not a major point of conflict.

'Why do I feel like I need their help right now?' Covo stared questioningly at the doors of the Temple as his mind circled thoughts of the Mistresses. 'Because of course I _need _their help,' there were traces of sour sarcasm in his voice. 'The Pure is powerless, the sisters are mortalised and I've practically been living with the First for the last four months, why shouldn't I _need_ their help?'

He gave a heavy sigh and made his way inside. The Temple was lit by electric lamps and was much less gloomy than any of the other Temples would have been this time of day. Set was the God who controlled Elta, the Lightning Elemental. The Odraians who lived here were all Elta users, so it made sense for them to modernise the Temple as quickly as possible. Once they had they began to help the others bring their old world into the new one. Slowly and surely the two cultures were modernising their history, it was a welcome inevitability in so many ways and yet at the same time seeing this much modern technology in such an old structure made Covo feel more than a little sad.

Some instinct inside him began to pull him forward, down through the strange, unfamiliar network of passageways towards a room hidden somewhere at the back of the Temple. No one needed to tell him he was being led towards the Mistresses' Chamber, he already knew it instinctively. He didn't know how or why he knew he was being led there, but then again he didn't really care. For whatever reason it was where he needed to be and that was something he wasn't going to argue with.

It didn't take him long to spot the unimportant looking door with the combined symbol of the Three Mistresses' carved into the old wooden panel. It was hard to imagine an entire civilisation thinking beings as important as the Three Mistresses deserved something so plain and ordinary it could almost be overlooked, but that was just the Odraians for you. As he moved closer and closer to the door he could feel his heart start to pound in his chest and the familiar sound of voices reached his ears. It was at this point he knew he hadn't ended up at the Temple of Set by chance. He might have thought he was running blindly with fear, but he wasn't, someone had been guiding him. Someone with more power and intelligence than the Three Mistresses combined.

Covo's hand was shaking as he reached for the solid iron hoop which acted as a door handle. He might have only been able to hear three distinct voices, but there was no doubt in his mind there were four people in the little room which lay beyond. And the fourth person needed him. So what else could Covo do but try and get him back?

* * *

Re had his back pressed against the lettering below the symbol which represented the Face of Friendship. He was bored and irritated and just wishing something would happen to make things a little more interesting. That was when _he_ burst into the room; all wide-eyed and trembling in fear.

'Covo,' Gan gave an amused half laugh, 'well this is a surprise; I thought you were out for the count.'

'Give me Crovell, Ahna,' Covo's voice was tight, 'you can do whatever you like, but please don't involve him in your plans. He's just a baby.'

'If that's what you think, then you're clearly more stupid than you look.'

'Ahna please don't do this, he's your son.'

'You right. He is my son. But haven't you worked it out yet?' A cruel smirk spread across her face. 'I'm not your precious Ahna.'

'You're Gan, aren't you?' Covo swallowed hard.

'Ah, so you do have a brain in that head after all. I did wonder.'

'But I thought Ahna was free of you.'

'That was her folly, not mine. But then, the naive will believe what they are told to believe.'

'I believe in the Light...'

'Just how stupid are you?' Re cut him off. 'The Light... the Mistresses, they're nothing compared to us. Just look at how easily I've been able to control the Passive Mistress; I have her crushed into complete and utter submission. It doesn't matter how powerful a person is, weak minds have no resistance. And the three of us like nothing more than to take advantage of weak minds,' he stalked his way towards Covo. 'I can tell from here you have a weak mind.'

'I'm stronger than you think I am,' Covo's voice had a surprising amount of strength in it considering the look of fear in his eyes.

'Nobody is stronger than I think they are,' Re shook his head, 'everyone is weak and pathetic in comparison to me. That's why it's so easy for me to get inside others heads. And once I'm in there... oh you wouldn't believe the fun I can have, even with the Mistresses.'

'But you can't control the Mistresses for very long,' Covo continued to hold his ground, 'none of you can, Ahna told me so.'

'We don't need to control them indefinitely,' Gan rolled her eyes, 'we just need to control them for long enough. Long enough for us to take everything they have away from them that is.'

'It'll be fun to watch them kneel before us,' Re laughed. 'You've no idea how long I've waited to see the Mistresses become subservient to us.'

'You mean... you mean you don't want to kill them?' Covo sounded surprised.

'What fun would that be? No matter how slow and agonising it is, death ends everything. I want them to suffer for as long as possible. I want them to know how it feels to be considered insignificant, to be patronised and degraded by beings who should be their equals. I want them to know how they made us feel. But I want more than that. I want them to worship us.'

'You're insane if you think the Mistresses would ever worship you.'

'Thank you Covo,' Gan laughed and shot a fakely sweet smile at him, 'and all this time I thought you didn't like us.'

'I don't like you,' Covo gritted his teeth, 'and I will be taking Crovell away from you now. I won't let you get that innocent child involved in your hateful plans.'

'Oh Covo, don't you know, this _innocent_ child is ours. We created him.'

'Created him?'

'Please Covo; I thought you were the one who was supposed to understand things. Don't you get it; it was us who made sure this child was conceived. It was us who gave him the most powerful parentage available. We designed him. His power. His intelligence. It's all down to us. And what's more, he is Chaos,' her voice was as cruel as the smile on her face. 'It's a pity Crovell Lutoni is such a drab name for him; it's really not what he should be called at all.'

'Then... then what should he be called?'

'Veron yia Chaosa,' Gan's voice was light and simple, 'Vengeance is Chaos.'


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47**

SK didn't understand why the others weren't questioning Win's plan. It was not only pretty obviously flawed; it was also putting the life of one of their friends in danger. It didn't make sense for them to be so calm and happy about it and just the idea that they were wound SK up in all the wrong ways. Whatever initial attraction SK had towards Win was well and truly gone now. Instead that feeling was replaced by deep routed doubts and unshakable concerns.

The Voices of Win might have all been pure parts of Win, but they'd still been pretty heavily influenced by their hosts. The Voices had acknowledge this and Win had confirmed it when he mentioned having knowledge and memories from the Win Hosts. He might have been a much purer Win than he was last time, but he still wasn't a pure Win. Did that mean he'd somehow picked up some kind of... flaw from one of the hosts? For the second time that day SK found himself dwelling on Catilin's less than stable mental health. He could easily see her being this callous without even realising it. But was that a trait she'd inherited from Win or one she'd given him when the Voices had joined together?

SK's tongue skated across his lips as he focused his attention on the others. Why weren't any of them questioning Win's plan? Did it really seem so logical to them or did Win have them all under some kind of spell? But if they were all under some kind of spell, then why wasn't he? Why would Win want them to all be so compliant and not SK? Was he not good enough for Win? Or did Win need someone capable of questioning him?

So many questions were running rampant around SK's mind and there wasn't a single answer to hand. He didn't know what to believe. What to think. All he knew was the more time which passed, the less he trusted Win. The less he trusted Win the more he felt this situation was deeply wrong somehow. Yes, something was definitely wrong with this situation and that something was Win.

* * *

There were two things Win like more than anything; having control over a situation and correctly predicting how a person would react. The first was a trait he'd gained from the First, the second from the Pure. So it was somehow deeply amusing to him that it was actually powers he'd gained from the Face of Friendship which allowed him to manipulate the current situation.

Normally he wouldn't manipulate other people's feelings as rigidly as this, but he had to make sure everyone reacted in the right way. It was the only way he could get what he wanted without breaking too many rules. Not that he particularly cared for the rules to begin with, but since the Helper would be obliged to right up this event once it was over with he had to be seen to be adhering to them or else his hosts may end up suffering the repercussions and he couldn't allow that.

Still if things kept going the way they were it wouldn't take much more to push the situation in _just_ the way he wanted and then... then his real plan would kick in.

* * *

Duke was starting to feel increasingly frustrated by the way SK kept interrogating Win every chance he got. It seemed like every time the guy opened his mouth, it was to fire off some negative comment or suspicious question. Why couldn't he just relax? Win was trying to help them after all.

'Explain to me again how you'll know when Covo's found them,' SK licked his lips.

'Because I'll know.'

'But how? I mean, are you telepathically connected to him right now? Is there some far reaching empathy thing you've got going on here? What? Because _you'll know_ doesn't really tell me anything. I...'

'Will you just lay off him already,' Duke cut him off, 'can't you just trust that Win knows what he's doing?'

'No, because I don't believe he does know what he's doing,' SK shook his head, 'don't you see how risky his plan is?'

'Nothing comes without risk SK,' Kaiba folded his arms, 'have a little faith.'

'That's easy for you to say, you are faith,' SK licked his lips again, 'I've just been working for it for the last ten months and if you and the First were thinking clearly, you'd probably be raising the same objections I was.'

'What are you talking about SK?' Joey frowned at him. 'We are thinking clearly; that's why we trust him.'

'No, no he has you under some kind of spell,' SK was starting to sound paranoid and agitated, 'that's the only explanation for this. Why else would you be so calm about him marching Covo off to his death?'

'He's not marching Covo off to his death. Win's told you more than once the Reganna won't touch him, why can't you just believe it?'

'Just because they haven't killed him yet, doesn't mean they won't. Why are you being so stupid about this? Why can't you see it's a problem?'

'Please tell me you didn't seriously call me stupid just then,' Joey's voice was tight. 'How dare you talk to us like that SK.'

'I... I didn't mean... Why are you flipping this back on me?'

'Because you're acting all crazy and paranoid right now,' Duke gritted his teeth. 'If I didn't know better I'd say you were trying to get us to lose our faith in Win.'

'He's got a point,' Joey narrowed his gaze on SK, 'you do seem to be acting a little too... erratic SK, even for you.'

'You've got to be joking,' SK licked his lips several times, 'I'm not trying to shake your faith in Win; I'm just trying to get you to see this plan of his is a little crazy. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?'

'I don't trust him,' the words were out of Duke's mouth almost as soon as they'd entered his head. 'I think he might be working for the Reganna.'

'What...?' SK spluttered. 'Where the hell is that coming from?'

'Win is our best hope of beating them and all you can do is bad mouth him,' Duke folded his arms, 'either you hate him for no reason or you're working for the Reganna.'

'I... I am not working for the Reganna. I am the Mistresses' Helper.'

'Well you sure as hell could have fooled me right now,' he gritted his teeth, 'maybe you should just leave SK.'

'What? Why?'

'Because we don't need you,' Kaiba's voice was tight, but serious. 'Duke is right; the way you're acting right now is more than a little suspicious. Even if you're not working for the Reganna, you're hardly working for us. So you should leave.'

'But…'

'No buts SK,' now it was Joey's turn to glare at him, 'just leave.'

'No,' SK shook his head, 'no I will not leave.'

'Are you really defying orders twice in one day SK?'

'Yeah, I can hardly believe that I am, but I think I have to,' SK held firm, 'don't you see how crazy this situation is?'

'All I see is that you're still here SK,' Joey's nose twitched with annoyance, 'I thought I told you to leave.'

'No.'

'Do as you're told SK,' Duke was surprised at the level of anger in his own voice, 'leave already.'

'No,' SK licked his lips several more times, 'I will not. I will not leave.'

'Don't be so stubborn SK,' Kaiba took several steps towards him, 'all you're doing is making things worse for yourself.'

'But I...'

'Leave SK,' Joey cut him off.

'No.'

'If you don't do as you're told right now, I'll…'

'You'll what? Punish me for caring? Strip me of my powers or something? Because if that's what you're going to do already, then do it.' SK's voice was shrill and hysterical. 'In fact, you know what; just take my powers away from me right now and call it punishment. If anything it'll be a relief, because that way I won't have to get involved in anymore of this insanity. Go on, I give you permission to take my powers away.'

'Bingo,' Win aimed the Elemental Axe at him.

Before anyone could react, a stream of light poured out of the Axe towards SK.

'Win what are you doing?' Joey's voice was filled with uncertain tones.

'I'm punishing SK,' Win smirked as the polarity of the beam which stretched between SK and the Axe reversed, 'it's what he asked for after all.'

'But... you're in violation of the Herin Agreement.'

'Please, the three of you only signed that silly agreement to keep the gods happy,' Win rolled his eyes.

'That doesn't matter, there's still an agreement. You need to stop this right now Win.'

'Fine.'

Win pulled the Axe back and the beam of light between it and SK disappeared. Almost as soon as it did SK dropped to his knees and a look of sheer exhaustion spread across his face.

'I did not violate your silly little agreement,' Win met Joey's gaze. 'For a start he gave permission for his powers to be stripped and for a second I know you were contemplating at least docking his powers for his insolence. You both were,' he flicked his gaze towards Kaiba.

'So what if I was, you had no right…'

'I had every right,' Win cut her off, 'in fact I had more right to do this than you had to put a power block on the Pure's host. The Herin Agreement requires permission to be given when altering the power level or capability of an individual. It also means you can only strip a person's power in exceptional circumstances. These are exceptional circumstances.'

'Then why didn't you just ask his permission?'

'Because it also had to be a punishment,' Win met and held Joey's gaze, 'but you already knew that,' he gave a heavy sigh. 'Don't worry I'll explain everything to you, but first I have to get these powers into a new host.'


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48**

Without bothering to explain to them what he meant by _new host_, he aimed the Axe at Duke and fired another beam of light. He knew he should have let his girls know what he was up to, but he needed their reactions to be genuine in order to get what he wanted. Still he hated deceiving them and he knew he was going to pay for betraying their trust sooner or later.

His mind moved across all the half truths he'd told up to this point and tried to figure out which ones he needed to reveal and which he could keep to himself for now. He definitely needed to assure them all Covo was in no danger. It was essential that SK's irrational reaction came from a genuine place and the thought of someone close to him being in peril was real enough to work. Of course they weren't really waiting for Covo to find the Reganna; that was a ridicules notion. With any luck the guy was just waking up somewhere with a massive headache and no way of getting himself back into danger.

Of course there was still the possibility he was wrong; the Reganna might have disposed of him already. After all, unconscious at the end of his burnout he would have been an easy target for them. But easy targets were boring and the Reganna already had bigger fish to fry, so the likelihood was Covo was totally safe.

His head swarmed slightly as the beam of light between the Axe and Duke began to dim. Win hadn't been lying before when he said the Axe was design to backfire on anyone who wasn't a true balance and considering the level of power he'd had to use with it, a little bit of light-headedness was an almost welcome side affect. With the power exchange now complete, Win lowered the Axe and examined Duke. The guy's whole body was glowing in a strangely eerie kind of way. There was something almost beautiful about it, but at the same time...

'Win, what did you just do?' The First interrupted his train of thoughts.

'I did what I had to do,' Win glanced towards her, 'I created a Mistresses with a stronger connection to Crovell than anyone else.'

'Stronger connection to Crovell...?' The First shook her head. 'But... I'm his father.'

'I know, but Duke is the one he's most connected to. I know it pains you to hear that, but it's the truth.'

'So you're saying he's a Mistress now,' her voice was tight, 'how is that possible?'

'Do you remember the alteration I performed on SK's powers the last time I was here? I didn't tell any of you at the time, but I increased his power level. I had my reasons for doing it which went beyond just saving him from Re, but I can't go into those reason now; they have nothing to do with this situation. But I did raise the levels considerably, maybe not quite to Mistresses level, which is why I needed to add a little of my own power into the mix when sending it across to Duke.'

'You mean you weakened yourself?'

'Hardly, you and I both know I have more than enough power to spare. Although I would have had to have made fewer adjustments if he didn't have such a large hole to fill,' his gaze carefully glided over the still dazed Duke.

'Large hole to fill?' The First frowned. 'I don't understand.'

'Don't give me that my girl,' Win shook his head, 'you know exactly what I'm talking about. Is your host really so jealous he won't fix it?'

The First made a slight choking noise, before shifting her gaze away. For a few long minutes there was silence.

'This isn't how things were meant to go,' Win gave a heavy sigh. 'The Reganna were never meant to get their hands on Crovell. When Heart installed fear into Covo, it was supposed to make him run until he reached a safe place. The safe place he was heading for was the Three Mistresses Chamber in the Temple of Set. I guess the Reganna must have cut him off sometime before then.'

'Why the Temple of Set?' The Pure frowned at him. 'Why not the Temple of the Three Mistresses?'

'Because I was hoping my son would protect his brother from detection,' Win smirked. 'I know it was a long shot, but…'

'It was a risk you had to take,' the Pure finished for him.

'Yeah, it was. We wanted to keep the child out of this. But when the Reganna got their hands on Crovell I had to rethink the whole plan,' he sighed again. 'I always knew I would need three Mistresses, but originally the third was supposed to be SK, since I'd already raised his power levels once adjusting them wouldn't have been too difficult. But like I said before, Duke's bond with Crovell is closer than anyone else's. It was a bond formed during the first few hours of Crovell's existence and one that no one, not even the Reganna, can break. Duke is the key to getting Crovell back.'

'Wait, let me get this straight,' SK rubbed his face as he carefully pulled himself up onto unsteady feet, 'all that just now, that was just you setting me up?'

'I'm sorry.'

'I knew something was going on,' SK licked his lips, 'but I'm not sure how I feel about being right.'

'Well if it helps, we're not really waiting on Covo finding the Reganna,' Win smiled weakly at him, 'I had to give you something to latch onto and that just felt... right somehow.'

'So where is Covo exactly?'

'I don't know; somewhere safe and completely out of danger with any luck.'

'But what if he isn't?'

'Then we have to pray I'm right about the Reganna, that they really won't hurt him.'

'What exactly am I?' Duke's quiet murmuring interjected itself into the conversation.

'A Pseudo-Mistress,' Win glanced towards him, 'a substitute.'

'But…' Duke stared down at his own hands as his eyes slowly glazed over with a glowing white light, 'why do I feel so strange?'

'That'll pass.'

'Will it?'

'Yes.'

'When?'

'Soon enough and when it does we will be ready.'

'So this is what you've really been waiting for?' SK licked his lips again.

'Aye.'

'Then maybe it's time you explained the real plan to us,' he folded his arms. 'After everything you've just put me through, I think you at least owe me that.'

* * *

'Vengeance is Chaos?' Covo frowned for a moment, before the truth dawned on him. 'Don't you mean the Wolf of Chaos? Then again I guess in Etean the word for canine is veron, which also means vengeance, so I guess it makes sense.'

'Must you babble to yourself like that,' Ahna shot him a dirty look, 'it isn't smart or clever and you're hardly impressing anyone with your pointless trivia.'

'I wasn't trying to impress anyone,' he shook his head, 'I was just thinking out loud.'

'Can we kill him?' Yugi's voice was dry with boredom. 'I'd really like to kill him right now and then chop him up into little pieces and have Na stitch him back together again.'

'What are you, a Sayu Sen?' Ahna cocked an eyebrow at him.

'No, I'm just really, really bored and if something doesn't start suffering or preferably bleeding soon I think I'm going to completely lose it. I told you not to keep me waiting too long little sibling.'

'And I told you we can't risk killing anyone just yet, especially not someone who'll get a reaction out of any one of our hosts.'

'What about maiming?' Re met and held her gaze. 'Will your little host hold a hissy fit if her little boyfriend loses a few extremities?'

There were a few long moments of silence, during which Covo could feel his stomach clench and unclench several times with fear alone. He knew from Ahna just how dangerous Re was, but somehow hearing his sick and twisted desires coming out of Yugi's mouth made them seriously disturbing.

'The second you touch him, she'll kick off,' Ahna rolled her eyes.

'I'm really starting to hate that bitch, she's not letting me have any fun,' Yugi began to pace agitatedly.

'Re's right, I wanna play now,' Jay pouted, 'can't we play? Please can't we play just a little bit? If I promise he'll stay in one piece will she let us play?'

'Oh yes Gan,' Yugi's voice was filled with mocking tones, 'if we promise to restrain ourselves can we play?'

'You don't know the meaning of the word restraint,' Ahna glared at him.

'And you don't seem to get just how impatient I am right now,' Yugi glared back at her, 'either we move out now or we do something Gan, because if I have to go through one more second of boredom I swear you won't be able to stop me from having a little fun.'


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49**

Duke's head felt weird and his vision was somehow brighter than normal, almost as though someone had turned a thousand watt light bulb on behind his eyes. Everything was at once hazy and yet incredibly crystal clear. Sounds were sharper too, so sharp in fact they became strangely distorted. He knew the others were talking, but beyond the occasional word or sentence here and there he had no idea what any of them were saying.

Somewhere above the confusing din of noise in his close surroundings was another sound altogether; the sound of someone calling out to him. Not with words or even with a voice, just with this strange pulling little sound, at once so quiet and yet so incredibly loud. He stared round at the others, all of who appeared to be oblivious to the sounds of distress he could hear. Something told him they couldn't hear it. They couldn't hear it but he could. He could and he needed to do something; something to help the person in distress.

He took a step forward, but that just made his too bright and disorientating vision make him feel sick. He closed his eyes against it and instead tried to concentrate on the sound. If he knew what it was... if he knew who was making it... then he could find them and help them. He had to find them and help them. He had to. His mind slowly began to focus in on the noise. The source was closer than he thought; much closer and getting closer still by the second.

His eyes flung open as he realised with absolute certainty where the person in distress was. They were in Kama Traydon and they weren't alone.

* * *

From the second they'd set foot in the garden Crovell had started chirping like some crazed bird. The sound was as irritating as it was unwanted and since they were aiming for a sneak attack it had to go.

'If I didn't know better, I'd say he was signalling to someone,' Re curled his lips in disgust.

'Well I can't guarantee he's not, I told you I can't be sure if I have enough influence over him for this yet.'

'And I told you if we didn't move out now I was going to seriously hurt that little boyfriend of yours instead of just knocking him out. It was your choice to make.'

'It was hardly much of a choice,' she glared at him, 'I simply went with the less reckless option.'

'Come now little sibling, there's nothing wrong with being a little bit reckless. It could really get a person going.'

'Yes, but there's very little that doesn't get you going,' Gan narrowed his gaze. 'I'm starting to think I should get you neutered.'

'I wouldn't let you live long enough to try it,' he met and held her gaze. 'Now get the brat to shut up already, I'd rather our plans weren't ruined because of him.'

'If our plans are ruined it won't be because of him,' she turned away, 'it will be because we moved too soon. It will be because of you, _brother_.'

The palm of Re's hand made a sharp and bracing connection with her cheek.

'You even dare say that again and I'll do a lot worse to you,' Re's voice was deathly serious. 'You're not so important that you can ever, _ever_ talk to me like that. I am the eldest. I am the leader. That's the way it's always been and that's the way it will always be, do you understand.'

'Yes, sibling.'

'That's better, now shut the brat up.'

Gan rolled her eyes and turned her attention back towards the infant she was carrying. Without warning his eyes became covered in a dark blue glow, which made the babyish smile on his face appear hauntingly eerie. As she continued to watch a matching translucent blue aura began to swirl around him.

'What the hell?' Re's voice a mixture of anger and alarm. 'Does that mean he's on our side or theirs?'

'I… I don't know,' Gan shook her head, 'I've never seen an aura this colour before.'

'Single colour auras mean God Class,' Na clapped his hands together. 'He's God Class, right, if we worship him would that make him a god?'

'We're not going to worship him Na,' Re glared, 'he's a tool, nothing more.'

'A God Class tool for God Class beings,' Na laughed. 'Black for the Reganna and blue for the Chaos.'

Without any explanation Crovell's chirps and squeaks died away to nothing, leaving them in a momentary silence.

'Well at least he's back to working for us now,' Gan cocked her head to one side.

'How can you be so sure?' Re glared at her.

'Call it women's intuition.'

'You're no woman Gan,' his lips curled with disgust.

'Don't give me that look when we both know you've accepted your host's gender.'

'I had no choice; it was the only way to stamp _her_ out.'

'How many times did you have to tell yourself that before you actually believed it?'

'You're already on thin ice with me Gan; do you really want to be plummeted head first through the water?'

'Oh I do love it when you talk dirty,' she mocked, 'that vile little tongue of yours gets me every time.'

Her words brought Re to a halt, forcing her and Na to do the same. The look on his face said more than words ever could and she knew without a doubt she was well beyond his tolerable limit now. But she could take anything Re was willing to dish out. In fact a part of her was just dying to see what he would do.

'If this goes well I may have to take you up on that,' he smirked as he turned away from her, 'but we have bigger fish to fry right now.'

'So you're really going to leave me cold and wanting like that,' she filled her voice with fake tones of pouting. 'A girl has needs you know.'

'You're a lot of things Gan, but a girl isn't one of them. And, like I said, if this goes well I'll take you up on it. But right now I'm gagging for a fight and the only way I'm going to get one is if we keep moving forward. So you just work on making sure that brat's on our side and I will make it worth your while.'

* * *

Even though the chamber had been quiet for some time he continued to lie there with his eyes closed, just in case they came back. He didn't know what had happened exactly, but a split second before Yugi's attack had made contact with him, a thin, barely visible shield, had formed around him cushioning the blow. Not willing to chance another attack, Covo had fained unconsciousness and had waited patiently for the cost to be clear.

The problem was he'd reached his boredom limit, not to mention the fact the ground beneath him was becoming more and more uncomfortable by the second. Unable to lie there any longer, he slowly opened his eyes and stared cautiously around the room. Once he was certain he was safe, he pulled himself up from the ground and dusted himself off.

'So now what the hell am I supposed to do,' he sighed heavily, 'if I'm right about who led me to this chamber, than that same person probably saved me from Yugi's attack. So... I guess I should work on repaying the favour somehow.'

He found his gaze scanning around the room several times. As it did it was repeatedly drawn back to the Ode letters which inscribed the Face of Friendships name. Just above it rested her symbol.

'An upside down seven with three lines running through it,' he didn't know why he was describing it to himself like this, but he felt a strange compulsive need to, 'each line getting shorter as it goes down, linked at the base to a normal seven with a single line running through it. Whoever came up with that design had a real artistic flare,' he rolled his eyes. 'But even so there has to be more to it than just a bunch of lines.' His eyes darted towards the symbol of the First. 'Five lines, another upside down seven connected to a normal seven; three lines on the normal seven getting longer going up.' His gaze moved quickly towards the Pure's. 'Two Z's stacked and linked at the base, each with a line running midway through it.' He pressed his lips together in thought. 'Three symbols. Three bunches of nonsensical lines, but... I feel like I missing something here.'

His eyes scanned back over the three symbols; what were they even there for anyway? After all, each Mistress had their Etean name carved in Ode beneath these so called symbols, something which would never happen to a god symbol. In fact the gods' names were never written in Ode lettering, people always used the symbols to represent them. So why give the Mistresses their own symbols, if you were going to treat them differently? Unless you were deliberately trying to call attention to the fact these three symbols existed in the first place because... Because there was a fourth symbol.

Gasping in realisation, he quickly made his way towards the door and opened it. Embossed on the other side was the combined symbol of the three Mistresses. At least that's what everyone called it despite the fact it didn't resemble any of the other three symbols. It was still just a bunch of lines, but it was a bunch of lines with four parts to it and not three. It was also a bunch of lines which meant a fourth symbol for three Mistresses.

'But it's not because there's a fourth Mistress,' the cogs in Covo's brain slowly clicked into place. 'It means there are three Mistresses and Win,' he shook his head from side to side in amazement. 'But Odraians completely deny his existence; they won't even accept him as some kind of fable or myth. So why would an Odraian deliberately create a symbol for Win and hide it in plain sight? Unless…' he closed his eyes and swallowed hard, 'Chaosa, Chaosa, Chaosen.'


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50**

The last time SK had felt this weak and powerless he'd been at the mercy of the Pure's powerful mind control. And even that somehow didn't feel anywhere near as bad as this did. When he'd asked for his powers to be stripped he was trying to be obtuse; he didn't actually want his powers to be stripped. Hell he didn't even think they could be, after all up until that point powers had only really been blocked or suppressed, not stripped completely; at least not according to Jay.

Unfortunately for him he couldn't find any real flaws with the explanation Win had given. Okay he didn't exactly go about it in the best and most productive of ways, but you couldn't really fault his motives. And now that he'd explained the _real_ plan to them SK had to give him credit for his resources and reasoning. As weird as it was to acknowledge, even to himself, Win really was everything he thought he would be.

But at the same time, and even surrounded with three and a half powerful beings, SK still felt strangely exposed and vulnerable. On top of this he also had no idea what to make of Duke. The Pseudo-Mistress had been zoned out for a while now and SK was worried the guy had completely missed Win explaining his plan to them. Considering just how much of the plan rested on Duke's ability to get Crovell away from the Reganna, the thought of the guy going into battle unprepared left unsettling feelings swirling in SK's stomach.

SK found his gaze resting on Duke for what felt like a little too long. The day had already raised enough questions about his sexuality and SK didn't really feel comfortable with anymore. Still there was something about the look on Duke's face which held SK's attention. The curious look slowly deepened into a frown and then a flash of realisation sparked across his features.

'The Reganna are coming.'

'What?' Win turned towards Duke with a look of unexpected shock on his face. 'But that means battling in the Sacred Huntay.'

'That shouldn't be a problem,' Kaiba pressed his lips together in thought, 'I mean, it's what happened last time.'

'No, you don't understand,' he shook his head, 'remember that place I told you about, the one in Giya I said we were going to head to once Duke was ready?'

'What about it?'

'It has a Yatnuh,' Win paused for a second as if to let the rest of them absorb the word, 'the only Yatnuh left in existence.'

'No, you're lying,' Joey stared at him, 'all the Yatnuhs were destroyed when chaos became order.'

'Well this one wasn't.'

'Um... I hate to interrupt the conversation here,' SK's tongue skated across his lips, 'but what the hell is a Yatnuh?'

'The ring of the Mistresses,' Win's voice was as calm as it was strangely direct. 'It was used by the…' he hesitated. 'It doesn't matter. What matters is that the Yatnuh would have allowed our Pseudo-Mistress the chance to defend herself properly whilst working on Crovell. Not to mention giving the rest of us a much needed power boost.'

'Then we should get there,' Duke's delivered his statement in a matter of fact way only Catilin could have matched.

'But there's no time.'

'Yes there is. If we move now, there will be time.'

'But…'

'Ler dros ti cam, al chaosa shan reno.'

'I don't understand,' Win frowned at him.

'What did he say?' SK licked his lips again; embarrassed his Etean still wasn't up to much.

'It doesn't matter,' Duke shook his head dismissively. 'We have no time for this now anyway.' With that he disappeared.

'Where'd he go?'

'Isn't it obvious,' Win smirked, shaking his head, 'he went to Giya. He went to the Yatnuh.'

* * *

'I don't believe this,' Re snarled as he stared around the empty Huntay, 'where the hell are they?'

'How should I know?' Gan puckered her lips together and turned away from him. 'If we'd just waited and taken a little bit more time to fully gage the situation, instead of rushing in head first because we were bored, maybe we would know where they were.'

'Shut up,' Re's hand was around her neck so quickly it caused her to gasp more than a little. 'Just because they're not here, doesn't mean we rushed into this. We just have to find them.'

'Fine by me, any suggestions where we start looking,' Gan's voice sounded tight.

'Maybe they went to Giya,' Na began playing imaginary hopscotch across the Huntay.

'Giya?' Re turned his attention towards him. 'Why the hell would they go to Giya? What could they possibly want there?'

'The Yatnuh,' Na's face filled with a stupid grin.

'There's a Yatnuh in Giya?' Re's eye twitched.

'_They_ don't know it's there, but I do. I do because the other one of me does,' Na laughed.

'If they don't know it's there, then why would they go to Giya for it?' Re was starting to feel more than irritated now.

'Because they have the puppet and it's the puppet's Yatnuh.'

'Interesting,' he took a step towards Na, 'you think they've put the puppet back together.'

'I don't think, I know,' he stuck his hands out behind him and began spinning around in a circle, 'you can tell.'

'I knew there was a reason we didn't drown you at birth,' Re grabbed hold of Na in order to stop the spinning. 'So my dearest little sibling, where on Giya is this Yatnuh, do you remember?'

'Of course I do. I remember lots of things. You know that.'

'So that means you can take us to the Yatnuh, right?'

'Wait,' Gan interjected before Na could reply, 'do we really want to be rushing into this? I mean, even without the Face of Friendship around, they're going to get a serious power boost from that thing. Shouldn't we come up with some kind of strategy before charging in?'

'We don't need a strategy, we just need that brat under control,' he glared at her, before turning his gaze back to Na. 'So tell me little sibling, where is the Yatnuh?'

* * *

'Why oh why is there a forth symbol,' Covo muttered to himself as he studied the design on the back of the door. 'What would an Odraian gain from making one? Who am I kidding, an Odraian wouldn't gain anything.'

Covo pulled a face and tried to clear all thoughts of conspiracy from his mind. He had to look at this situation rationally and to do that he had to start from the beginning. And in the beginning, according to the Odraians at any rate, they were the first mortal breed. A breed with a messier history than they cared to acknowledge, because even according to their own texts they had to have started off a lot more violent and chaotic than they were now. Back before the rise of the Two Lovers to the status of gods had brought about the Tenth Order, these early, more violent Odraians had followed a different kind of religion. One which worshiped the Three Mistresses as equals alongside the other gods, instead of shoving them away and deeming them unimportant. It was known as the Time of Chaos which nobody was allowed to talk openly about because if they did...

'If they did then people would have to start asking a lot of questions about the nature of these so called early Odraians,' Covo couldn't help but smirk to himself, 'to the point of questioning whether or not you can even call them Odraians.'

Covo found himself running his fingers lightly over the carved symbol as if hoping the wood would somehow give him the answers he needed. It didn't. It didn't because the answers he needed were already in his head.

'Chaosen,' even saying the word felt strangely wrong to him.

The Chaosen were supposedly a Silkoneon myth to explain the stark differences between the so called _early_ Odraians and their Tenth Order counterparts. According to these myths the Chaosen were a volatile race who'd drifted out of more civil wars than any one civilisation ever should. But in the years leading up to the ascension of the Mortal Gods and the start of the Tenth Order social reforms had started to occur. Reforms which started with the _birth_ of a new Elemental; Strek.

'Odraians won't acknowledge the Chaosen, because that would mean they're not the original breed,' Covo closed his eyes in thought. 'If they're not the original breed then they lose all rights to that nice little superiority complex they like to lord over everyone. And more than that it would make them like us; victims of sudden mass evolution and not some divine work which needed a little refining.' He gave a exasperated sigh and headed back into the chamber. 'I'm still not totally sure what I believe, but... I get the feeling this little room has a lot to tell me, so the only real question here is; how the hell do I get it to talk?'


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51**

In the time since he'd learnt he was dead, SK had come to understand two fundamental truths about Giya. The first was that it was the oldest and biggest Plain in existence and the only one connected to every other Plain, Realm and reality which made up the current multiverse. The second was that it classed as both a higher and lower Plain, but not as a Mortal Plain meaning all gods and higher beings were free to move around on it without consequence. Although from what little of it SK had seen he wasn't sure why anyone would want to.

Giya appeared to be nothing more than a large, desolate wasteland. Thanks to Jay he was aware there were cities dotted around somewhere which house all Nethher Herin and Vii Sen not working _and _living in the heavens, but in SK's head they became like metal Meccas in the middle of a baron dessert. This place was grim and boring and lifeless. Okay the heavens might have been bland beyond belief, but at least they were comfortable and hi-tech.

They hadn't arrived directly at the Yatnuh, but they'd been close. Close enough for Duke to lead them towards it without any trouble. Although how and why Duke knew where it was mystified SK more than a little. Somewhere in the back of SK's head he found himself going over the conversation Win and the First had when Duke was first given his powers and he couldn't help but wonder exactly what Win had meant about _filling a hole_.

Once they reached the Yatnuh, SK suppressed all other thoughts in order to study the so called Circle of the Mistresses. It was made up of two circles, a large one divided into thirds which sat around a smaller one in the centre. In each third of the outer circle there was a symbol and in the central circle there was a fourth.

'Let me guess,' he licked his lips nervously as he studied the symbols, 'the First, the Pure, the Face of Friendship and Win.'

'Got it in one,' Win flashed him one of his winning smiles.

'So how exactly are we going to let the Reganna know we're here?'

'Ler dros ti cam, al chaosa shan reno,' the Etean words once again rolled out of Duke's mouth. 'When the time comes, all chaos shall return.'

'And what's that supposed to mean exactly?'

'He means that it was the Ch…'

'Win,' Joey cut him off.

'But…?'

'No.'

Win gave a heavy sigh and threw SK an apologetic look.

'I guess that means I'm not going to get an explanation then,' SK rolled his eyes.

'It's not like we have the time for one,' Kaiba folded his arms, 'we have to be ready for the Reganna.'

'Yeah I know,' he licked his lips again, 'but an explanation every once in a while would be nice.'

'You shouldn't need to have things explained to you,' Joey narrowed his gaze on him, 'as our Helper it's your job to know things.'

'I...'

'They will be here soon,' Duke cut him off. 'Ler dros ti cam, al chaosa arla reno.'

'Will you stop saying that,' Joey turned on him.

'No,' Duke calmly shook his head, 'beto whi sai juchk yie en tono, sai part yia Chaosaion; sa pa atta lectay.'

'Okay, why the hell does Duke keep speaking in Etean?' SK frowned in confusion.

'Because he's smart enough to know no one wants to hear what he has to say in English,' Joey glared at the Pseudo-Mistress.

'No, I'm speaking in Etean because Etean is your native tongue and you need to hear the truth in it,' Duke's voice was calm, 'because what I've said is the truth.'

'No, it's can't be.'

'Why, because it involves the Chao...?'

'Finish that word and you won't live long enough to regret it. Saying it once in my presence is bad enough, I will not hear it again.'

'Okay...' SK's tongue skated across his lips as he cocked an eyebrow, 'I have no idea what the hell you're talking about, but I doubt any of you are going to tell me. So why don't we all back away from this conversation whilst we still can and just concentrate on getting ready for the Reganna.'

* * *

'So for arguments sake let's say this chamber _was_ built by one of the mythical Chaosen,' Covo's eyes slowly scanned the room, 'why? Was it just so their memory wouldn't be completely erased? I guess that's possible but I think I'd be more than a little disappointed if that's all there was to it. Come on Covo, you're the Interpretive twin, you can figure this out.'

Instinct made Covo get as close to the nearest wall as possible. He narrowed and un-narrowed his gaze several times, straining his eyes for something... anything... It took a while, but his eyes eventually began to pick out almost invisible markings on the surface of the wall. Markings which stretched out and formed incredibly faint pictures. Covo pulled himself back and studied the rest of the room, keeping this idea in mind. Suddenly the dull walls around him didn't look so dull anymore. For half a second he felt pleased with his discovery, then a twist of fear moved through his stomach; what if his mind was just showing him what he wanted to see?

Covo closed his eyes and took several deep breaths in. He then tried to calm his mind as much as possible so that when he opened his eyes again he would see what was really there. Or at least that's what he was hoping.

'A light born from shadows, a shadow born from light,' it took him a second to realise he was talking and even then he wasn't totally sure where the words were coming from. 'What once was day, will now be night. What once was night, will now be day. And all the shadows shall run away. The time has come, the time has passed. What once was first, shall now be last. What once was last, shall now be first. And all the heavens shall take the Earth. And I that once before you stood, shall know you through your cloak and hood. You may hide, but never far. And I who know you, know who you are. For you are the shadow and I am the light. Though we may quarrel, we'll never fight. For I who know you, shall know you then. Chaosa, Chaosa, Chaosen.'

The black backs of his eyelids suddenly turned a crimson red as the room around him filled with light. Flinging his eyes open he stared around the room. It was now covered in a series of glowing primitive style paintings which appeared to chart all events from the destruction of Win, to the birth of the Tenth Order and a little beyond. It was incredible, in both its detail and its beauty and for a long time Covo wasn't quite able to take it all in. When he had certain things started to make a lot more sense to him.

'The Mistresses didn't like them,' Covo felt a strange feeling of sadness stir inside of him, 'not because they were evil, but because of what they represented. Having said that they weren't exactly good either,' he found himself pulling faces at a number of the pictures, 'they really could be violent beyond belief at times, much worse even than some of the stories would have us believe. But they weren't all bad, in fact there was a lot of good in them too, so the fact that the Mistresses came to hate them so much... It's no wonder the Odraian don't want to acknowledge the truth about their past; they're the daughter race of an unloved people.'

He moved closer to the wall as he continued to study the paintings. After a few minutes he spotted something which was at once incredibly familiar and yet he knew he'd never actually seen it before.

'The Yatnuh,' he gave a strange half smile as he fingered the image, 'so the Odraians didn't destroy all depictions of you.'

Almost as soon as he said this the small, finger painted Yatnuh flashed blinding white. Alarmed, Covo took a step back and suddenly wondering if the Chaosen who'd created this chamber might have been from the eviler side of things. As he thought this everything in the room around him, apart from the Yatnuh, fell into darkness. The Yatnuh then pulse three times, covering the wall in front of Covo with an almost disorientating moving image. An image which contained a dark skyline and the shoulder of a person very, very nearby.

* * *

'I almost can't believe we're back here again,' Gan took a moment to survey their surroundings. 'It's strange, it feels like what happened then was a lifetime ago, but it really wasn't so long.'

'Must you dwell on the past,' Re rolled his eyes.

'I'm not dwelling, I'm just remembering how all this really began,' she indicated towards the child she was holding. 'Do you think they'll ever get the chance to meet?'

'They will if I have anything to do with it,' Re folded his arms, 'so you should stop talking like we've lost already.'

'I'm not talking like we've lost,' she started forward, forcing the other two to follow after her, 'I'm just... remembering.'

'Like I said before, stop dwelling on the past and concentrate on the future. Our future. The one where we have everything and they have nothing. It will happen. We're so close to achieving it now I can almost taste it, can't you?'

'Maybe,' she lifted her head up towards the sky, 'I can certainly taste something in the air.'

'You'd better not be going soft on me Gan,' Re narrowed his gaze. 'All this wistful thinking is so... unnatural.'

'We are unnatural Re,' Gan smirked at him, 'and it will take a lot more than wistful thinking to make me soft.'


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter 52**

'Welcome to Crovell vision,' Covo smirked as he realised what it was he was watching. 'I'm your host Macar Covo, bringing you the blow by blow updates from what is set to be the ultimate battle between light and dark, good and evil, the Mistresses and the Reganna. This will be the fight of the millennia and promises to be even more explosive than the Mistresses unfinished all out four months ago. Will the Mistresses suffer from being one down? Will the Pure and the First be able to work out their differences and fight side by side? Will the Face of Friendship overpower Re and turn the tide of battle? Well folks the shows about to begin. So grab your popcorn, settle into a nice comfy chair and get set for the experience of a lifetime. Who will ultimately prevail? Only time will tell.'

* * *

Gan almost laughed with shock when she saw four pairs of white glazed eyes staring at her from the Yatnuh. She'd expected Win's presence, but what the hell were they playing at with Duke? Surely they couldn't be expecting him to fight for them somehow. The very notion of it was too ridicules for words, especially with their little Helper and the Axe nowhere in sight.

'What the hell do you bitches think you're playing at,' Re jabbed a finger in Duke's direction, 'just what the hell is he supposed to be?'

'You mean _she_ right,' the Pure's voice was light and mocking, 'and I know our sister doesn't really have any distinguishing features, but I'm insulted _you_ don't recognise the Face of Friendship when you see her Re.'

'That is _not_ the Face of Friendship.'

'No, but she'll do,' a sly smile filled the First's face, 'not jealous, are we Re?'

'As if,' Re's lips curled with disgust. 'So are you cowardly whores going to give us back our Axe? Or are you actually going to make this interesting?'

'Do you see the Axe?'

'No.'

'Then I guess we're preparing to make this interesting for you,' the First met his gaze. 'But first, what do you say to giving us back the child.'

'I'd say get bent,' Re cocked his head, 'the brat is ours.'

'Don't call my son a brat,' the First flicked an energy ball into her hand.

'Fine, then I'll call him what he is. I'll call him Chaos.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Take a look for yourself First,' Gan grinned slyly as she held the child up for her to see.

'A… a… a blue aura,' she took several steps back, 'I thought they were just exaggerating about that.'

'Ler dros ti cam, al chaosa shan reno,' Duke's voice was level and calm. 'When the time comes, all chaos shall return.'

'Shut up,' the First shot him a look, 'I thought I told you to lay off that.'

'Trouble in paradise?' Re cocked an eyebrow. 'Is your little fake not working out for you First?'

'He's working just fine, believe me,' the Pure took up a defensive stance, 'now give us the child so we can get this battle started already.'

'Do I look like an idiot?'

'I don't know, do you?' The Pure smirked. 'We just want to make sure the child doesn't get hurt, so why not give him to us so we can put him somewhere safe?'

'You mean so you can summon the Axe here and use our prized weapons against us, don't you?'

'Last I checked I was the one who created the Axe, so I don't see how it's _your_ prized weapon. As for the kid, he was a group effort...'

'No, he was our doing,' Gan cut her off, 'I will not let you take any credit for him. He's ours. Always was and always will be.'

'We're not getting anywhere like this,' Win rolled his eyes as a white aura started to circle around him. 'So what do you say we save the bickering for a Sunday afternoon garden party and get down to the real action here.'

'And here I thought we didn't speak the same language,' a dark grin spread across Re's face as his aura began circling him.

In Gan's arms, Crovell began to gurgle excitedly. It was obvious he knew what was coming. After all he could probably smell the brewing chaos in the air or feel it in his bones or something. He was connected to the chaos in the same way he was connected to the Axe. When he was ready he would summon the Axe to him and end the fighting once and for all. It was a little secret about the situation only Gan knew and she had no reason not to keep it that way.

'Roll on chaos,' she kept her voice low as she allowed her dark aura to start circling round her, 'for my son shall inherit the darkness that follows.'

* * *

From his hiding place SK had a perfect view of the action. From the point in time Win had started allowing his aura to circle him; it had taken less than a minute for all seven combatants to be completely engulfed by their auras. There was something at once thrillingly extraordinary and yet ordinarily familiar about the whole situation which filled SK's whole being with a rigid kind of tension.

Nervously he glanced towards the Elemental Axe, which was safely hidden next to him. If anything were to happen to it he'd be left permanently powerless and Win would never be able to reseparate. That's was one of the two main reasons why it had been left out of the battle. The other reason was the fact they couldn't be sure which side Crovell was working for. If the First's son was the only one who could use the weapon properly, then allowing him access to it too soon was potentially dangerous. Especially after the sheer amount of time he'd spent around the Reganna since they'd first gained possession of him. If he'd been corrupted by them, then all they could do was hope and pray the weapon never fell into his hands.

His tongue skated across his lips as his eyes darted back towards the others. Gan had managed to keep herself and the child on the back line. SK did his best to study Crovell, although at the distance he was it was impossible to tell what the infants blue glazed eyes were focused on. Or at least that's how it felt at first glance. The longer he spent studying the infant, the more certain SK became that he could follow his eye line. To SK's surprise it led him directly to one of the Mistresses.

SK knew it was one of the Mistresses and not Win, because Win's aura was brighter than theirs, although with their auras up it was still pretty hard to tell them all apart. After a few minutes of watching, SK began to notice several strange things about her behaviour. For a start although she was definitely sending attacks in the Reganna's direction, they were few and far between. In between each attack her aura began flickering in an odd manner, subtle enough not to call attention to itself, but too irregular to just be happening by chance.

Crovell had started chirping near the start of the battle; SK had just put it down to his awareness of the situation, but now he began to wonder if it was more than that. His chirping appeared to correlate with the flashing aura of the Mistress he was watching. There was no way it could be coincidence; they had to be communicating with each other. The only questions now was; what the hell where they saying to each other and why the hell hadn't anyone else noticed it yet?

SK flicked his gaze up towards Gan. Her companions might have been distracted by the battle, but she didn't have that excuse. Was it possible she hadn't noticed the flickering aura of the Mistress? Did maybe she think Crovell's chirping meant something else? Or was she controlling it somehow? The problem was, with her aura up Gan was little more than a glowing black shadow. A shadow had no face and no face meant no expression and no way of telling what she might or might not be thinking. SK gave a heavy sigh as his tongue once again skated across his lips.

He now found himself with two very real possibilities. The first being that Gan hadn't noticed the communication going on between Crovell and the unknown Mistress, which would indicate Crovell was on their side. The second was that she did know and was manipulating the situation so the Mistresses would let their guard down. If that were the case then Crovell would be working for the Reganna and his objective was no doubt figuring out where the Axe was hidden.

Almost as soon as he'd completed his train of thoughts the Elemental Axe began to flicker and glow like a disco ball rotating through a series of ten colours. As he continued to watch the colours blurred together forming a dazzlingly beautiful light like nothing he'd ever seen before. The power oozing off the weapon filled every single one of his senses. He could taste it. He could smell it. He could see it. He could hear it. And, with an uncertain feeling of dread, he knew exactly what was about to happen next.


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53**

'Welcome back to Crovell vision. For those of you paying attention, you'll be more than aware of the current state of the battle still raging between the Mistresses and the Reganna,' Covo couldn't help but smirk to himself. 'For you see, in a surprise twist, the Mistresses somehow managed to make a Substitute Mistress out of Duke. For what reason, I hear you ask. Well I'm going to assume it's to even up the numbers a little,' he gave an embarrassed laugh and scratched the back of his head. 'I'm going to go ahead and assume you don't get to count Win. But it doesn't matter; so far things seem to be on a pretty even keel. But, as we know from experience that won't last because… hey, what the…?'

Without warning Crovell's gaze shifted and Covo found himself staring at a multicoloured glow of lights coming from a hidden corner of the cavern like room the others were in. He held his breath for a few moments. So far it appeared like only Crovell was aware of these lights, but Covo knew that wouldn't last. Whatever it was, it was crying out for attention and attention was just what it was going to get.

'This just in,' he swallowed hard, 'a glowing mass has just been spotted by our inside man. Will this… whatever it is, be enough to change the flow of the battle, who knows. But stay tuned, because things are defiantly about to heat up.'

* * *

The Elemental Axe appeared without warning in the middle of the battlefield, causing each side to call a temporary truce. All eyes watched the Axe as it hovered and glowed with the full beauty of ten different colours. The power it contained screamed out to every single one of them; filling the Reganna with excitement and the Mistresses with dread. With the Axe now on the field everything which had come before was suddenly irrelevant. This was and always had been the object that would decide the fate of the multiverse. The time had come. The battle was over now. The only question was; whose side would the weapon's owner pick? That of the light or that of the darkness. It all came down to this.

Minutes passed by like hours and the child whose choice would make or break the order of things hadn't moved a muscle from Gan's arms. The Mistresses' hearts sunk.

'We've won,' the words came out of Gan in a single, joyous breath.

But she spoke too soon. Within seconds Crovell vanished from her arms, reappearing on the ground beneath the axe in the centre of the battlefield. For a few moments the infant lay there, staring up at the powerful object he controlled. He then made a few happy squeaks, before giggling excitedly.

'Da da da da da,' he chirped as the axe flew across the chamber into the hands of one of the Mistresses. 'Da da da.'

The child's blue aura fully engulfed him as his body became surrounded by a translucent bubble, which floated gently into the air.

'Da da da da,' he continued to chirp. 'Da da da da da.'

The bubble slowly carried the child towards the Mistress holding the Axe. When he arrived above the Mistress's head, her aura began to take on a blue tint. The still swirling aura dimmed enough to reveal Duke stood inside it. His glazed eyes also contained tints of blue and his face was filled with a strange, but knowing smile.

'Ler dros ti cam, al chaosa shan reno. When the time comes, all chaos shall return. And I am the chaos.'

'What?' The aura around another of the Mistresses broke, this time revealing the First.

'I am chaos,' Duke repeated, 'Father I am Chaosen.'

'Father?'

'Yes,' Duke nodded, as the baby in the bubble began to float towards the First. 'Father, Duke is simple my Daiosen, that is how I am able to use him like this. I have to make you understand, make all of you understand, that I am not only chaos, I am Chaosen'

'You mean Chaosaion?' The First frowned.

'I do, but in all honesty I prefer the corruption of their name. After all you associate the Chaosaion with all that is evil and wrong with their breed, so maybe you can accept the Chaosen as all that was good and right with it.'

'There was nothing good and right with it.'

'No, you're wrong. The Chaosaion were as much born out of the fragments of Win as they were the Fragments of the Reganna,' Duke's voice was calm and level. 'That's why they could be so different when you moved between the realities. Because some had more darkness in them and others more light. But in the end, no matter what reality you were in, the Reganna fragments slowly started clumping together, draining out of the people as a whole and into individuals. This allowed the fragments of Win to create something better; something purer, which the three of you wouldn't hate or fear. That's how the Odraian were born; only you couldn't see that because you were so filled with grief over Win's death. Even then. Even at the start of the Tenth Order you couldn't leave him behind. It was why you relinquished your power over the Earth to the gods. It was why you only saw evil in the Chaosaion. But you must understand; they were never truly evil.'

'Touching story kid,' Re's voice sounded out of one of the aura covered beings, 'but if you don't mind, I believe we were just about to take your father down. So are you with us or against us?'

'Isn't it obvious?' The axe in Duke's hands flashed.

'Fine, suit yourself. I don't care how powerful you are, I'll destroy you.'

'I don't think so,' Win took a step forward. 'See the kid's with us now, making it five against three. I'd say the odds were stacked in our favour, wouldn't you?'

'Think what you like, you'll never defeat us.'

'That's where you're wrong,' the First grinned, as she allowed herself to become engulfed by her aura again. 'You guys ready for this?'

'This is what I'm here for, remember?' Win's voice was filled with excited pride.

'Then I'd say it was about time to show these fools exactly why it's better to be light,' the Pure laughed, 'literally.'

'So what are we waiting for?' The First gathered a ball of pure light before her.

Within seconds of her doing so, the Pure and Win had done the same. Beams of light then shot out of the three balls towards the Reganna.

'What do you think you are doing?' Gan's voice sounded in a mixture of alarm and pain.

'Turning you into Light,' Win chuckled, 'or weren't you listening?'

'You can't.'

'Watch us,' Duke smirked as the three beams of light were joined by a fourth from the Axe. 'Your time in this Realm is coming to an end and there's nothing you can do about it.'

The cavernous chamber became filled with the screams of the Reganna. It was a deafeningly painful noise to listen to and there was no way anyone could block it out.

'Evil may always exist, but darkness will never prevail. We know how to stop you now and we will tell everyone.'

As the Reganna's screams became louder, the whole chamber filled with a blinding light.

'To cleanse was never enough. The only way to destroy the darkness is to cure the darkness. And the only way to cure the darkness is to turn it into light.'


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54**

As the image in front of him became too bright to watch, Covo was forced to turn his head away. After a few moments, however, the intense glow died away to nothing. When he turned his head back the wall in front of him had reverted to being nothing more than a normal wall again. Even the glowing cave paintings had faded back to their barely visible origins.

'I guess that concludes Crovell vision,' Covo sighed with deep disappointment. 'I wish I could see whatever it is which will happen next, but I guess I'll just have to wait until I see them again. Wait,' he gave a half laugh and shook his head, 'what am I saying, they're not going to tell me. I mean, I practically had to drag what happened the first time out of Ahna kicking and screaming. Still,' he folded his arms and tilted his head to one side, 'I've seen enough of what's happened so far for them to at least fill me in on the final moments. It would only be fair after all I've been through for them today.'

Sighing again, he stared around the now dark chamber. It suddenly occurred to him he had no idea what time it was. Checking his watch, he was amazed to find it was the early hours of the morning.

'And I'm trespassing in a Temple,' he groaned. 'Somehow I doubt anyone's going believe I'm here because the First's son wanted me to learn the truth about the Chaosen. Or that I witnessed the battle of a lifetime take place through the eyes of a baby, because he projected it onto a wall for me.' He laughed. 'Hell, I'm not even sure I believe it,' wearily he rubbed his face with his hands. 'I guess the best thing for me to do now is leave quietly before I'm caught. I also might want to stop talking to myself,' a strange smirk pulled its way across his face, 'this might have been a pretty maddening day, but the last thing I need is to completely lose it now.'

* * *

Trembling and sick with dread, Yugi knelt heavily on all fours as the truth of his actions slowly came back to him. He felt ashamed and completely horrified that he'd allowed himself to become like that. A guilty kind of pain pressed against his chest as he stared cringingly down at his hands. He barely even recognised himself. Tears blurred his vision as a single question repeated itself over and over in his head; why?

'It's alright Yugi, it's over now,' the ghostly image of the Pharaoh appeared in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder as he did.

'I... I've been so horrible,' he shook his head. 'I… I… oh god,' he squeezed his eyes shut as an all too vivid memory rose to the forefront of his mind.

Hot tears rolled down his face. Every inch of him now burned with pain and guilt and self-hatred at what he'd become. Nothing around him was real anymore. The only thing which existed was complete and utter misery.

'Téa,' the word wailed out of him, 'Téa!'

* * *

'Well at least he's back to normal,' Kaiba rolled his eyes.

For a moment he allowed himself to watch Yugi curl up into a ball and sob for all he was worth. Yes it was a pitiful and uncomfortable sight to watch, but somehow he needed to see it, just to be sure Re was really gone for good. When he finally managed to convince himself that Yugi really was Yugi again, he moved his attention to Jay and Ahna. They were mopping around looking pretty sorry for themselves in much the same way they had the last time. Clearly they were back to normal; that's if you could really call either of them normal.

Kaiba's gaze then shifted towards his cousin, who was just pulling himself out of his hiding place. It was pretty clear from the look on SK's face things had turned out better than he'd hoped. But considering how pessimistic the guy could be at times, it wouldn't have taken much for things to turn out better than _he'd_ hoped. Kaiba now turned his attention towards Win, who was casually slinking towards the far side of the chamber. His rich brown eyes were turning over everything going on around him with a muted kind of boredom and it was clear he was just waiting to see what happened next.

'Yuug,' the sad sound of Joey's voice broke the silence.

Mild feelings of irritation rolled through Kaiba as he realised the blond muppet was sympathising with Yugi. Still vivid memories of Yugi using the Elemental Axe against him rose in Kaiba's mind, turning his mild irritation into anger.

'What, you're going to pity him, after everything he's put us through?'

'It wasn't exactly him though, was it?'

'I didn't see you making such clear distinctions the last time,' Kaiba gritted his teeth. 'So, how are we going to punish them?'

'What do you mean _we_?' Joey cocked an eyebrow at him. 'The way I see it you're still on punishment for your own misdeed.'

'Actually, the way I see it, I'm the one who's going to be deciding what happens this time.'

Duke's voice was calm and commanding. Turning towards him Kaiba noticed not only was the blue-white aura still swirling around him, but he was also still holding the Elemental Axe.

'Crovell?' Joey's eyes darted towards the glowing dark blue baby in the bubble.

'It's my turn. Without me you'd never have been able to permanently rid this reality of the Reganna.'

'Yeah right kid,' Kaiba gave a half laugh and lowered his head. 'Look, you've done enough; it's time to leave this to the grownups.'

'Don't call me kid,' Duke's grip on the Axe tightened. 'You more than anyone knows what I'm capable of, so I demand you show me a little more respect.'

'I'll admit you're powerful and intelligent and more impressive than the mutt you call a father will ever be, but you're a baby right now. Maybe in a few years you'll be old enough to dish out the punishments yourself, but right now...'

'I'm sorry Crovell, but I'm going to have to agree with Kaiba on this one. Wait,' Joey glanced about in mock confusion, 'who said that?'

'And for a second there I thought you might have actually had a brain.'

'Watch it Kaiba.'

'For what it's worth, I agree with letting Crovell finish this one off,' Win smirked.

'What?' Kaiba turned towards him. 'You can't be serious.'

'Why not?' Win began casually examining the nails on his right hand. 'I mean, even in his infantile state the kid is easily the second most powerful being here. He's not quite at my level yet, but it won't be long before he over takes me. On top of that, he's also the one who's going to sort out the power mess I created, not to mention splitting me back up into the four Voices,' his dark eyes flicked up to meet with Kaiba's. 'So why not let the baby have his bottle?'

'I'm _not_ leaving this up to a baby,' Joey folded his arms, 'I don't care how powerful my son thinks he is, I...'

'So are you going to summon my girls back out and explain your objections to them, then?' Win cut him off. 'Because I think they were more than happy to leave this one to Crovell.'

'They... they were?' Joey blinked at him.

'Of course, why else do you think you guys were put back in control?' Win met and held his gaze. 'They chose to leave the field, meaning they chose to leave this to Crovell.'

'You... you really think so?'

'Yeah...' Kaiba found himself smirking slightly as he allowed himself to read Win's mind, 'he really does think so and what's more, I think he's right.'

'You're agreeing with him too,' Joey rolled his eyes, 'well I guess I should make this unanimous then.'

'Seto already knows this because... well, why wouldn't I tell him,' Win casually flicked some of his hair out of his eyes, 'but the fate of the power block on his and Tristan's bodies also rests in Crovell's hands.'

'What?' Joey's voice was filled with tense anger. 'You mean if Crovell chooses, the Pure's punishment could be revoked?'

'He means exactly that,' Kaiba couldn't help but grin, 'and I for one can't wait to see what bubble boy will do.'


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55**

'Well this is certainly unusual,' Jay cocked an eyebrow, as he stared down at the circular tattoo on the underside of his right wrist.

'I don't think powers should be blocked completely, I also don't think having them permanently limited does anyone any good either,' Duke's voice was level and controlled. 'Plus if I'm being honest here, I can't afford to leave my Mother powerless or vulnerable in any way, not whilst I'm still so dependent on her. And since all three of you committed the same _crime_, all three of you should receive the same punishment. That's what I believe.'

'You're less than a year old,' Joey gave an impatient sigh, 'you're not even supposed to have opinions yet.'

'You really need to stop underestimating me Father,' the baby in the bubble floated towards him, 'or else I may never feel the need to call you Dad.'

'Really? Really you're going to try and hold your affection hostage like that?' Joey cocked an eyebrow at him.

'If that's what I have to do to get a little respect out of you.'

'It's not that I don't respect you Crovell, it's just... I want to feel like I'm your Dad and when you act all mature like this it makes it very hard for me.'

'I know. So do you want me to explain their punishment or not?'

'Sure, go ahead.'

'Okay, well like I said permanently blocking or limiting their powers doesn't work for me, so I've come up with a system to remotely control just how much power they have access to,' Duke's voice was bright and enthusiastic. 'The tattoos on their wrists will indicate exactly how much power they have available to them at any one time. The shape and size of it will alter a bit like a moon going through various stages in its cycle. A full moon means no power; a total eclipse means full power. Anything in between means some, but limited power. Clever, huh?'

'Yeah, it really is,' Kaiba shot an impressed look in Crovell's direction. 'You're definitely the First's son, because you didn't get an intellect like that from Wheeler.'

'Shut up Kaiba,' Joey glared at him.

'So does this mean I have to go back to keeping an eye on Jay then?' SK's tongue skated across his lips.

'Yes and no,' Duke's voice was more than a little thoughtful. 'The idea is that the tattoo itself will kick in to prevent him from misusing his powers in anyway, but that doesn't mean he won't plot anything. So it's probably best you keep an eye on him, but not too close an eye.'

'Great, more excuses for SK to make me his default number one suspect,' Jay rolled his eyes, 'just what I always wanted.'

'I would like to remind you that you are being punished here Jay,' Kaiba glared at him, 'so I wouldn't get too cocky if I were you.'

'So are there any other rules?' Ahna sucked a sharp breath in. 'Like are we banned from seeing each other or... anything?'

'No,' Duke shook his head again, 'again I see no benefit to that. If anything it would be more of a hindrance to this group as an efficient whole if you couldn't interact. But being around each other will automatically drop your power levels to zero.'

'Okay, now they're sorted, I need to know what you're doing about Kaiba and Tristan,' Joey jumped on the split-second of silence before anyone else could say anything.

'They asked for the powers to be blocked because the lines between themselves and the higher beings had become too blurred,' Duke's voice was thoughtful, 'but it doesn't benefit me for them to be without their powers. And besides, they not only know their own minds a lot better now, but from here on out it's my decision if and when the order of things should change, not theirs. So I see no reason to continue blocking their powers.'

'But...'

'They're not a threat to you or anyone,' Duke cut him off, 'and... they need their powers back for certain... events to occur.'

'What kind of events?' Joey frowned.

'Possibilities which were foreseen but still may not happen. Having access to their powers may not guarantee these... events happening, but it will increase the chances and... well I'm very interested in a future where those things are possible. It benefits me.'

'You keep saying that as though things _need_ to benefit you,' Joey pouted.

'That's because they do.'

'Is it my turn yet,' Win moved from the wall he was leant against, in to the centre of the group.

'Yeah, about that,' Joey turned his attention towards his son, 'are you going to put your sister's Id back where she belongs when you separate the Voices back out?'

'Nope,' Duke's voice was almost childish.

'Why not?'

'Because I can only reset things to how they were before they formed Win, I can't change anything which affected them prior to that. And unfortunately that includes anything their Egos were afflicted with too, like Tristan's memory problems.'

'Tristan has memory problems?' Joey jumped on the words.

'His soul card was damaged.'

'What...?'

'How do you know about that?' Kaiba cut Joey off.

'Oh come on, I might have only been a month old, but I was there remember. I saw what happened,' Duke smiled knowingly at him.

'Great,' he gritted his teeth, 'and let me guess; now Duke knows everything too?'

'Everything?' Joey turned towards Kaiba. 'What happened exactly? What did you do?'

'Who said he did anything?' Duke's voice was light, but firm. 'And no Kaiba, Duke won't be able to remember a thing.'

'Good,' Kaiba sighed in relief.

'Why? What happened? What aren't you telling us?' Joey narrowed his gaze on him.

'Crovell's already told you everything you need to know,' Kaiba turned away. 'Tristan has memory problems because his soul card was damaged, what more do you need?'

'A how the hell that happened would be nice.'

'Look, Joey, I know you're just worried about your friend, but trust me, you don't need to know,' Win placed his hands on his hips impatiently. 'So why don't we just get everyone's Id back where they belong, before we lose their Egos to permanent comas.'

'Err... right... sorry.'

'So does this mean I'm getting my powers back now?' SK gave a nervous cough as his tongue skated across his lips.

'You'll have to sort that one out with Crovell, he'll be the one doing it after all,' Win shrugged. 'Although if I were you kid, I'd tune the power levels back down to what I had it at,' he glanced towards Crovell, 'he has a lot of potential, but he's a long way off being _ready_ yet.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' SK stared at him.

'It means you're getting your powers back the way they were when I took them.'

'Good,' he licked his lips again, 'because I really miss them.'

'Huh, that's funny; I could have sworn I heard you say you wouldn't.'

* * *

Yugi had been too consumed in his own grief to pay any attention to what was going on around him. The pain and guilt he was feeling remained turned up to full volume for what felt like an eternity. All he could do was cry until the tears dried up and his body hurt from his relentless sorrow. Eventually, however, he just reached a point where he felt completely and utterly numb. As he did he felt someone place a hand on his shoulder and gently shake him.

'Come on Yuug, we've got to go.'

'Go where?' His voice sounded dull and listless even to him.

'To the hospital. I've got to get Heart back into Mai and I don't think you should be left on your own in the state you're in.'

'But that's what I deserve. After everything I've done, I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to speak to me again.'

'Don't be stupid, you're my friend Yugi; all that stuff wasn't really you. It was Re. But Re's gone for good now and you're you again.'

'Don't be nice to me,' he shook his head as his body somehow found more tears to shed, 'Téa's in the hospital because of me, because of what I did to her. I don't know if she's ever going to wake up and even if she does, she's never going to forgive me.'

'Of... of course she will. She will because... because I'll explain to her what happened and I just know she'll understand.'

'And what if she never wakes up?'

'Don't think like that, of course she will.'

'Oh god,' he cringed in on himself, 'what if she doesn't? What if she never wakes up? It'll be all my fault.'

'Yuug…'

'Oh Téa,' he wailed miserably, 'Téa!'


	56. Chapter 56

**Chapter 56**

The early morning light of a new day was just starting to filter through the curtains when they arrived back. Kaiba gave a weary sigh as he placed Mokuba's soundly sleeping body down on the bed next to Tristan. It had been a long day and Kaiba was pretty sure he could sleep for a week at least, but he knew he wouldn't. The three of them, his family, had just come through a major storm. And even though he prayed with everything in him Mokuba would be alright now, he knew only time would truly show what damage had been left.

He felt Body's hand on his shoulder as he found himself watching the two sleeping forms on the bed.

'You're still not him you know,' he glanced towards him.

The youth smirked and puffed out his chest proudly; _I know; I'm better looking._

'Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.'

A mocking pout appeared on Body's face; _so you don't think I'm better looking?_

'No,' he folded his arms, before the implication of what he was saying dawned on him, 'I mean…'

Body waved his hand dismissively; _I know what you meant._ His gaze drifted down towards Tristan; _you know I'll have to go soon._

'I know,' Kaiba lowered his own gaze.

The thought made him feel strangely sad. Despite the less than pleasant start of their acquaintance, Body had really grown on him. The youth had worked hard to really earn Kaiba's trust and admiration and Kaiba couldn't help but respect him for that. He flicked his gaze back towards the youth and hesitantly reached towards the long fringe hiding the left side of his face. Nervously he swept it back and allowed himself to really study the transplanted features which split the youth's face into two badly matching halves. For some reason it no longer looked horrifically grotesque to him. Instead it looked sad and pitiful, like a cute dog who'd lost an eye.

Sighing heavily, he lowered his hand and allowed the fringe to fall back into place.

'I guess this is goodbye then.'

Body gave him a sad smile; _yeah._

'So are you…?'

Before Kaiba could finish his sentence, he found Body's lips pressed against his own. For a moment, even though he was completely free of the youth's control, Kaiba felt powerless to resist. Somewhere in the back of his head he tried to blame it on the Pure, but he wasn't totally sure that was true. Body wanted to say goodbye to him the same way he'd introduced himself and Kaiba... Kaiba was willing to let him.

When the kiss ended, the youth tilted his head to one side and his face filled with another sad smile; _see, I knew you liked me really._

'Whatever,' Kaiba turned away.

There were a few minutes of silence before Kaiba felt Body press something into the palm of his hand and close his fingers round it. Instantly he glanced back up, but the youth had already vanished. In confused, he stared down at his hand. Opening it, he saw a key strung to a chain like a pendent; the gift he'd given to Tristan for his birthday. He gave an amused half laugh and shook his head. Taking a deep breath, he leant over his still unconscious friend and refastened the chain around his neck.

Sighing heavily, he perched on the foot of the bed and leant back against the bed post. At some point during the last couple of days he remembered thinking watching other people sleep was a weird thing to do. Suddenly it didn't feel so weird. Maybe it was because all his exhaustion was suddenly returning to him tenfold. Maybe it was just the deep and almost confusing feelings of sadness he had knowing he'd never actually see Body again. Or maybe it was because watching them sleep was a mindless action and he needed to be mindless. Whatever it was he was pretty sure it would keep him there until one or both of them woke up.

Tristan stirred slightly in his sleep, but only enough to roll onto his side. A slight smile twitched at the corner of Kaiba's lips, although he couldn't totally be sure why. In fact in that moment in time he couldn't totally be sure about a lot of things. Vaguely he remembered something Yugi had said about him only caring about himself; that wasn't true. Yes the Pure had forced Tristan into his life, but he was the one keeping him there. In much the same way Body had, Tristan had really grown on him. There was a depth and meaning to their relationship which allowed Kaiba to understand why people bothered having friends to begin with.

The only problem was, the barrier between him and the Pure was gone now. Last time her feelings had been overwhelming, so much so that Kaiba hadn't been able to pick out his own amongst them. A part of him was terrified that might happen again and he wasn't sure he'd be able to stop it. For half a second he found himself envying Tristan; the guy had been through hell, but at least he knew his own mind. Kaiba used to think he knew his own mind, then the Pure became a part of him and...

Somewhere in his tired brain he knew he had to find some way of figuring out his own head. He knew he should have spent the last few months doing just that, but with everything else that had been going on it just hadn't been a priority. As grateful as he was to get the Pure's powers back sooner rather than later, he wasn't totally sure he was ready. But what could he do exactly other than hope her feelings wouldn't be so overwhelming, or that she'd actually keep her distance so he could sort out his own from hers.

He needed to sort out his own head. He knew that now. In the tired, half light of the morning, as he sat there watching the two people he cared about most in the world sleep, he knew one thing with absolute certainty; he _needed_ to take some time to sort out his own head. So why did it feel more tempting to bury his head in the sand?

* * *

The first thing Mai became aware of was the feeling of lying in a cramped space. This quickly moved on to the knowledge that she was sleeping on a single bed with someone else. Someone who was cuddled up so closely to her she could smell the faint scent of sweat and cheep shampoo coming from his hair. She carefully opened her eyes to find Joey sleeping next to her.

'Marry me Mai,' Joey mumbled in his sleep, 'I love you.'

Despite herself, she couldn't help but smile. Those words were all she needed to know he'd been possessed. But just because he'd been possessed didn't mean he was forgiven.

'Joey,' she kept her voice low as she gently shook him awake, 'Joey.'

'Not now Mai, I'm planning our wedding.'

'Doesn't the bride have to agree to get married first?'

He mumbled something inaudible and she shook her head.

'Come on Joey, wake up.'

'But I'm not asleep.'

'Yeah you are Joey. Come on, wake up.'

Giving a tired sigh, his eyes blinked open. Shifting his head, he smiled lazily up at her.

'You're awake.'

'And so are you, now,' she smirked.

'I love you Mai, you have no idea how much.'

'Joey,' she turned her head away, really not wanting to ask this question, 'who was she?'

'Who was who?'

'The girl you… the girl… the…'

'The girl I was with?' He finished for her, pulling himself up as he did.

'Yeah, who was she?'

'She was you.'

'What?'

'She was you,' he repeated, 'or at least a part of you.'

'I don't understand.'

'Don't worry,' his eyes were filled with such a loving look of devotion she couldn't help but melt for him, 'I'll explain everything. But before we get into the serious stuff, I'm going to ask you this one last time, then no more till Jo's born, I promise,' he took a deep breath in. 'Mai, will you marry me?'

* * *

It had been nearly a week now. A week since he'd committed his fiendish crime and still Téa hadn't woken up. The guilt coursing through his veins was made ten times worse because no one knew what was wrong with her. Her case had the doctors totally baffled. She wasn't in a comma, they knew that. In fact, her strong brainwaves and the way she would occasionally murmur something indicated she was just asleep.

Asleep, but completely unable to wake up and it was all his fault.

'You shouldn't be so hard on yourself Yugi,' the Pharaoh's ghostly image appeared beside him, 'you were being controlled by Re at the time.'

'Why should that be an excuse?' Yugi shook his head. 'It still doesn't change what I've done.'

'Don't beat yourself up about it,' Yoam rested his hand against Yugi's shoulder, 'nobody's blaming you for this.'

'Well they should. They should and I defiantly should. Because if she never wakes up I'll never forgive myself.'

'She'll wake up, eventually Yugi; I have every faith that she will.'

'And if she doesn't?' Yugi stared at him. 'What then?'

The End.


End file.
